Kumble lauds board for central contracts

Anil Kumble has lauded the Board of Control for Cricket in India for deciding to hand out central contracts to leading cricketers ahead of the Asia Cup. "The players will feel financially secure," Kumble is quoted as saying in a report on the BBC website.

"This is the best thing to happen to Indian cricket," said Kumble, who has been involved in discussions regarding the contract system from early on. "The players will not be worried where their next rupee would come from in case they were injured.

"It also benefits the board because the players will now be under the strict supervision of the BCCI even during the off-season.

"A player cannot afford to relax because one bad season may see him not only being downgraded but pushed out of the contracts system altogether," Kumble said.

The BCCI is expected to put on contract not more than 20 cricketers, split into three grades. The top grade, A, is expected to come with a guaranteed retainer of Rs 60 Lakh (US$ 130,000 approx), Grade B Rs 30 Lakh (US$ 65,000 approx) and Grade C Rs 15 Lakh (US$ 32,500 approx) annually. In addition to this the players will receive match fees for each game they play.

A panel including the board president, secretary and chairman of selectors will meet soon to decide which players get contracts and in what grades. It is widely expected that Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag will be in the A category.