Shikha Pandey and Poonam Yadav have been excluded from the latest player retainership list announced by the BCCI for the Indian women’s team. Poonam hasn’t represented India in any format since March 2022 while Shikha hasn’t played ODIs since 2021 and has not been a regular feature of the T20I squad either.
Poonam held a Grade A contract last year but finds herself out of the 17-member list altogether this time around. On the other hand, Shikha was handed a Grade C contract in the last cycle. Wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia and Arundati Reddy are the other notable exclusions from the contracts list.
Meanwhile, Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh earned promotions up to Grade B while Renuka Singh Thakur moved straight in to the second pay category with her first central contract. All three players have been a key part of India’s limited-overs set-up over the past 12 months and have deservingly been rewarded. The Grade A contract list now has three members – down from five last year – in skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma.
🚨BCCI announces annual central contracts for senior women cricketers🚨#BCCI #WomensCricket #HarmanpreetKaur #SmritiMandhana #DeeptiSharma pic.twitter.com/j5i0wjH9Lr
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) April 27, 2023
