Newcastle batsman Jason Sangha has become the youngest player in history to receive a NSW State Rookie Contract while teenage off-spinner Arjun Nair has been awarded a full State Contract for the 2016/17 season.

Currently 16-years and 233 days-old, Sangha experienced a meteoric rise through junior ranks last summer.

He started 2015/16 as a member of the NSW U/15 Schoolboys team but was subsequently selected in the Cricket Australia Invitational teams for both the U/17 and U/19 National Championships.

He then played three U/19 One Day Internationals for Australia against New Zealand and Pakistan, and became the youngest player in 90 years to play for NSW in a Second XI or Toyota Futures League match.

The Hunter Sports High student will continue to focus on his studies and live in Newcastle while training with the Blues around his Year 11 commitments.

Sangha joins Josh Hazlewood and Jake Doran as the only players to have ever been contracted by Cricket NSW while still in High School. Both Doran and Hazlewood were in Year 12 when they first signed with NSW.

Hawkesbury’s Arjun Nair made his First Class debut as a 17-year-old during Round Eight of last summer’s Sheffield Shield when NSW played South Australia in Coffs Harbour.

Nair was the Player of the Final when NSW Metro defeated ACT/NSW Country in the Final of the U/19 National Championships, and he took nine wickets in a match for NSW in a Futures League fixture against the ACT in Canberra.

In other changes to the NSW squad, Campbelltown-Camden top order batsman Ryan Gibson and Manly-Warringah wicketkeeper-batsman Jay Lenton have both earned full contracts for 2016/17.

Gibson was one of the leading batsmen in the McDonald’s Sydney First Grade competition last summer, scoring 1,065 runs at 76.1, including back-to-back double centuries.

Lenton was also one of the top five batsmen in First Grade, scoring 946 runs at 67.6.

The 25-year-old made his First Class debut last season against Victoria at the SCG, going on to play three Shield matches during the Blues’ 2015/16 campaign.

Northern District off-spinner Chris Green and Fairfield-Liverpool fast bowler Liam Hatcher have been both given Rookie contracts for next season.

Green has represented NSW in the Matador BBQs One Day Cup and last summer he was a key member of the Sydney Thunder side which won BBL|05.

Hatcher has represented Australia at the U/19 level and was selected in the Cricket Australia XI which played in the last Matador BBQs One Day Cup.

2016/17 NSW Blues Squad (clubs/region or junior association in brackets)

Cricket Australia Contract

Pat Cummins (Penrith/Penrith DCA)

Josh Hazlewood (St George/Central Northern)

Peter Nevill (Eastern Suburbs/Melbourne)

Nathan Lyon (Northern District/Western)

Steve Smith (Sutherland/Sutherland JCA)

Mitchell Starc (Western Suburbs/Northern District DCA)

David Warner (Randwick Petersham/South Eastern JCA)

Cricket NSW Contract

Sean Abbott (Parramatta/Parramatta DCA)

Doug Bollinger (Fairfield-Liverpool/Parramatta DCA)

Ryan Carters (Sydney University/ACT)

Harry Conway (Northern District/North Shore DCA)

Trent Copeland (St George/Western)

Ed Cowan (Sydney University/South Eastern JCA)

Ben Dwarshuis (Sutherland/Sutherland JCA)

Ryan Gibson (Campbelltown-Camden/Penrith DCA)

Daniel Hughes (Northern District/Western)

Moises Henriques (St George/Georges River-St George DCA)

Josh Lalor (Penrith/Penrith DCA)

Nick Larkin (Sydney University/North Coastal)

Jay Lenton (Manly-Warringah/Central Coast)

Nic Maddinson (Eastern Suburbs/Southern)

Arjun Nair (Hawkesbury/Parramatta DCA)

Stephen O’Keefe (Manly-Warringah/Hawkesbury DCA)

Kurtis Patterson (St George/Georges River-St George DCA)

Ben Rohrer (Fairfield-Liverpool/Fairfield-Liverpool DCA)

Gurinder Sandhu (Fairfield-Liverpool/Blacktown DCA)

Will Somerville (Sydney University/South Eastern JCA)

Cricket NSW Rookie Contract

Mickey Edwards (Manly-Warringah/Manly-Warringah DCA)

Chris Green (Northern District/North Shore DCA)

Liam Hatcher (Fairfield-Liverpool)

Jonte Pattison (Sydney University/Central Coast)

Jason Sangha (Randwick Petersham/Newcastle)

Henry Thornton (Eastern Suburbs/South Eastern JCA)

After holding a Rookie contract last summer, opening batsman Daniel Solway has been delisted while Shane Watson drops out of the NSW squad after retiring from First Class and One Day cricket.

Cricket NSW Chief Executive Andrew Jones said the injection of youth into the NSW squad was exciting.

“NSW has a long tradition of backing young talent and we are delighted to be able to bring Jason Sangha, Arjun Nair, Liam Hatcher and Chris Green into the Blues squad this summer.

“Along with Mickey Edwards, Jonte Pattison and Henry Thornton, these rookies have a tremendous amount of potential and we look forward to seeing them develop under the guidance of the Blues coaching staff and senior players,” said Jones.

“The Blues had a solid summer in 2015/16, winning the Matador BBQs One Day Cup and achieving the best win-loss record in the Sheffield Shield. The squad also supplied the majority of the Australian Test team. Our challenge now is to build on this momentum, to defend the Matador Cup and win the Sheffield Shield.

“NSW is fortunate to have seven Cricket Australia contracted players, and we expect many of our senior Blues players like Moises Henriques, Stephen O’Keefe, Gurinder Sandhu, Doug Bollinger and Trent Copeland to also challenge for places in the National team during the 2016/17 summer.”

The NSW Blues squad will return to pre-season training at the start of June.