NEW DELHI : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the annual player contracts for India’s women’s cricket team for the 2024-25 season on Monday.

All-format captain Harmanpreet Kaur, along with prominent batter Smriti Mandhana and elegant all-rounder Deepti Sharma have been placed in Grade A, owing to their steady performances throughout the years, as per ICC’s official website.

Fast bowler Renuka Thakur, batter Jemimah Rodrigues, wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, and opener Shafali Verma have been placed in the ‘Grade B’ category. Shafali has maintained her position even after being removed from the white-ball squad due to poor performances in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the UAE.

Yastika Bhatia, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Titas Sadhu, Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Sneh Rana, and Pooja Vastrakar have been placed in the ‘Grade C’.

India will face Sri Lanka and South Africa in an ODI tri-nation series in Sri Lanka, which is scheduled to begin on 27 April. The ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 second-place finishers are also preparing for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, which is due to take place on home ground later in the year.

Rajeshwari Gayakwad from Grade B, together with Meghna Singh, Devika Vaidya, Sabbineni Meghana, Anjali Sarvani, and Harleen Deol, who were in Grade C, did not make it to the BCCI Women’s Central contracts, for 2024-25. Shreyanka Patil, Titas Sadhu, Arundathi Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, and Uma Chetry are the new additions who successfully earned their retainers. (ANI)