Karthik eligible for contract, recommended for Grade C

Dinesh Karthik, who was highly successful as a makeshift opener in the recent Test series in England, has qualified for the Indian board's central contract as per the eligibility criteria.

The board's finance committee took note of his eligibility and has recommended that he be put in Grade C of the three-tier contract system that entitles him to an annual retainer of Rs 20 lakh, according to BCCI sources.

Karthik, who was the highest scorer for India in the series with 263 runs under his belt, met the qualification criteria of having played five Tests or 15 ODIs in a season.

Zaheer Khan, the man of the series with his incisive swing bowling that fetched him 18 wickets, was upgraded from Grade C to B and can leapfrog to the topmost tier, Group A, if he continues with his impressive show, sources said.

Grade B players get Rs 35 lakh annually while Grade A players take home Rs 50 lakh in annually retainers.

The board's working committee had decided to stop graded retainer payments in the aftermath of the team's World Cup debacle earlier this year but had to put this decision on hold with the players not signing the new contracts drawn up.

But with the turnaround in the team's fortunes with back-to-back series victories in Bangladesh and England, it remains to be seen whether the board will stick to its earlier stand or continue with graded contracts for the new season starting October 1.