BCCI awards central contract to Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel; Here's how much they will earn annually

Mumbai, Mar 18: India's emerging batter Sarfaraz Khan and wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel have been added to Group C of the BCCI's central contract, entitling them to an annual retainership fee of Rs 1 crore, having met the criterion of playing three Tests in the current season.

Their inclusion in Group C was officially approved during the BCCI Apex Council meeting convened on Monday (March 18). They have both done exceedingly well in their debut Test series against England.

Sarfaraz, a prominent figure in Mumbai's domestic cricket scene, showcased his talent with three half-centuries in as many Tests against England. Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel, hailing from Agra, impressed with scores of 90 and an unbeaten 39 in a challenging chase at Ranchi, earning him the Player of the Match accolade in only his second appearance.

The ratification of their central contracts was a key agenda item during the meeting, and both players successfully met the criteria for inclusion.

BCCI Central Contracts For 2023-24 Season

The BCCI Central Contracts for the 2023-24 season were already finalised last month, with the following players enlisted in various categories:

1. Grade A+: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, & Ravindra Jadeja

2. Grade A: Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya

3. Grade B: Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

4. Grade C: Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel.

The Group C contract is generally awarded to young cricketers who are making their entry into the international stage and those who feature in just one format. Both Sarfaraz and Jurel are currently restricted to the Test side, their progression to the other formats will be subject to the unavailability of the ones ahead in the pecking order.