Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, on Monday, welcomed the central contract system of payment for players announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, saying it was a step in the right direction.

"I accept it. It's a forward looking step. It is a step in the right direction," Ganguly told newspersons.

He said cricketers nowadays played for eight or nine months a year and were always under pressure to perform. "All teams except India and Pakistan had this contract system. This is a good thing for Indian cricket."

Ganguly said another good feature of the contract scheme was that players could be promoted to a higher grade or demoted depending on their performance.

Asked what prompted him to excuse himself from yesterday's parleys of the Gradation Committee, Ganguly said he did not want to be seen as partial to anybody.

"I may be the captain. But as a part of the team I'm answerable to the boys. I don't want my boys to think that their captain is partial to somebody," he said.

Ganguly also did not think that the BCCI's decision to nominate only 17 players for the scheme reflected a dearth of talent in the country.

"I think some cricketers could not make it as they did not fulfil the criterion of having played three Tests and 10 One Day Internationals during the year. But there is a provision that anybody who performs well can be drafted into the system any time of the year, if he fulfils the above criterion," he said.

The top 17 Indian cricketers, who have been offered lucrative contracts, can be upgraded or downgraded depending on their performance.

The players have been divided into three grades with a bonanza of Rs 50 lakh annually for those placed in Group A which comprises of seven players including Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag, both of whom have performed poorly in recent times.

Grade B, which has seven players, offers Rs 35 lakh while Grade C, with three players, offers Rs 20 lakh each annually.

As per the gradation system, a maximum of 20 players would be given contracts every year. This time, with the BCCI having named 17 players, the remaining three spots might be filled up during the year.

When a scribe sought his reaction on the inclusion of pacer Irfan Pathan in Grade B saying it had generated a dispute, Ganguly shot back, "In India, whatever you do, there will be dispute. The players in each grade were identified by the Gradation Committee. They have done what they thought was right, though I don't know what went through their minds".