NEW DELHI, July 5: India's top cricketers will be offered graded contracts this month, officials said on Monday, correcting an anomaly that saw untested rookies earning the same match fees as superstar Sachin Tendulkar.

The players will be divided in three categories, with top rung players like Tendulkar and captain Saurav Ganguly getting annual salaries of six million rupees (approx US$134,000), the second slab earning three million rupees ($67,000) and the third 1.5 million rupees ($33,500).

Besides the retainers, the players will also get match fees of around 200,000 rupees ($4,500) for a Test and 160,000 rupees ($3,500) for a One-day International. The reserves will, however, be given only 50 percent of the match fees. -AFP