The Mumbai Cricket Association has introduced equal-value annual retainers for its male and female cricketers, becoming the first state governing body in Indian cricket to provide annual contracts across both groups. According to a report by Cricinfo, 22 players will receive retainers under the new system, with the initiative designed to provide financial support to cricketers who are not centrally contracted by the BCCI or included in its targeted group.
Fourteen male and eight female players have been selected across three contract categories. Grade A carries an annual retainer of INR 12 lakh, Grade B is worth INR 8 lakh and Grade C provides INR 6 lakh, with exactly the same amounts applying to men and women.
MCA establishes equal retainer structure
The contracts add a guaranteed annual payment to the earnings available to the selected Mumbai players. Beyond their retainers, contracted cricketers will continue to receive match fees, daily allowances and incentives linked to performance.
Among the senior men’s players, Siddhesh Lad and spin-bowling allrounder Shams Mulani have received Grade A contracts. Fast bowler Mohit Avasthi and wicketkeepers Akash Anand and Hardik Tamore have been placed in Grade B, while the Grade C group includes allrounders Sairaj Patil and Himanshu Singh.
The women’s Grade A category features Humaira Kazi and Vrushali Bhagat, while Sanika Chalke is the sole Grade B recipient. Left-arm seamer Fatima Jaffer is among five players awarded Grade C contracts.
Mumbai continues investment in player earnings
The introduction of annual retainers builds on other measures taken by the MCA to increase financial support for its cricketers. During the 2024-25 season, the association introduced a 100% pay increase for its senior men’s team, effectively doubling what players could earn over the course of the domestic season.
The wider Indian domestic game has also faced growing calls from former players for greater emphasis on red-ball and domestic cricket. At national level, the BCCI‘s Test incentive scheme provides additional financial rewards to centrally contracted men’s players based on their participation across a Test season, with match-fee incentives capable of reaching 300% for players featuring in more than 75% of Tests.
The MCA’s new contract structure extends its financial initiatives into a year-round retainer system while applying the same monetary value to equivalent contract grades for its male and female players.
MCA launches Ajinkya Rahane scholarship fund
Alongside the player contracts, the MCA has established a scholarship fund honouring Ajinkya Rahane and his contribution to Mumbai and Indian cricket following his retirement earlier this year.
The initiative is intended to support cricketers at grassroots level and has received a contribution from former MCA President Sharad Pawar. It adds another player-focused programme to the association’s recent measures spanning senior-player remuneration and development support.
With 22 cricketers now receiving annual retainers in addition to their other payments, the new contract system gives the MCA a formal structure for financially supporting selected male and female players outside the BCCI’s central and targeted groups.
