Former team India director Ravi Shastri has come down heavily on the recently revised payment structure for Indian players.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), last month, doubled the annual retainer fee for all contracted players to 2 crore, 1 crore and 50 lakh respectively for the three graded categories A, B and C. There had been no changes to India’s retainer contracts since 2010 before the decision was taken on March 22.

However, Shastri is not satisfied with the pay hike and termed it ‘peanuts’ before comparing the salary of the Indian players with that of players from Australia and England.

Reports suggest that England skipper Joe Root and Australia captain Steven Smith were paid INR 8 crore to INR 12 crore.

“It’s (what they are getting) nothing, (Rs) 2 crore is peanuts. How much is an Australian (cricketer) getting?,” he said.

Singling out India Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara who once again failed to find a buyer in this year’s auction, Shastri urged the BCCI to hand a ‘massive’ contract to Grade A players.

“The grade contracts of a Test player should be the highest. (Cheteshwar) Pujara should be the highest, at par with top players. Your A grade contracts have to be massive,” said the former Indian team director here.

“That is the best grade, where an A grade player like Pujara gets a massive amount and is not bothered whether he plays IPL or not. He will be happy and say ‘I can play two months of country cricket’ and go (to England)”, the former Test and ODI all-rounder said.

Shastri’s comments have come at a time when reports are suggesting that the Indian players were unhappy even after the pay hike. The players are reportedly unhappy with the fact that their counterparts in Australia and England are getting much better payments.