In a major shake-up, stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been demoted from the A+ category to Group B in the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) annual central contracts list for the 2025-26 season.
The BCCI on Monday announced the Central Contracts 2025-26 for 30 men and 21 women. In the BCCI Central Contracts 2025-26 for the Indian men’s cricket team, Shubman Gill, the Test and ODI captain, has been placed in Grade A, alongside pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. The trio are the only players to feature in the top bracket for the upcoming season.
Grade A+, which was the topmost tier last season, has been scrapped.
However, the BCCI did not disclose the fees for the three categories. In previous seasons, before the A+ category was scrapped, Group A players earned ₹5 crore annually, Group B ₹3 crore, and Group C ₹1 crore.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who were in Grade A+ last season, have been demoted to Grade B in this year’s players list. India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav also finds himself in the same tier. Notably, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket last year and had walked away from the T20I format back in 2024. They only represent India in ODIs currently.
Ravindra Jadeja, who is in Grade A, has retired from T20I cricket but is still available for ODI and Tests.
Grade B features a strong mix of experience and all-format contributors, including KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant.
Grade C, meanwhile, continues to reward depth and emerging talent, with the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Sanju Samson, amongst others, included in the tier.
Jemimah in Grade A for women; Arundhati and Sree Charani in Grade C
Meanwhile, in the BCCI Central Contracts 2025-26 for the Indian women’s cricket team, captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma have been placed in Grade A after a year which saw the team win the Women’s ODI Cricket World Cup.
Renuka Thakur, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh and Sneh Rana are in Grade B. Hyderabad’s Arundhati Reddy and Andhra’s Sree Charani are in Grade C.
The BCCI Central Contracts for the 2025-26 will be valid for the annual cycle as notified by the board.
The BCCI Central Contracts are annual retainership agreements between the BCCI and selected Indian cricketers, offering financial security based on performance, consistency, fitness and overall value to the national setup.
Introduced to bring structure and stability to player remuneration, the contracts are divided into multiple grades, with higher categories reserved for players considered central to India’s plans. The list is reviewed annually by the BCCI in consultation with the selectors and team management.
In addition to the retainership, central contracts also include match fees and performance-based incentives, ensuring players are compensated not just for appearances but for their sustained commitment to Indian cricket.
BCCI Central Contracts 2025-26 for Indian men’s cricket team:
Grade A: Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja.
Grade B: Washington Sundar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer.
Grade C: Axar Patel, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Ravi Bishnoi, Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Central Contracts 2025-26 for Indian women’s cricket team:
Grade A: Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma.
Grade B: Renuka Thakur, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Sneh Rana.
Grade C: Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Pratika Rawal, Kranti Gaud, Uma Chetry, Arundhati Reddy, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, G Kamalini, Vaishnavi Sharma, Tejal Hasabnis.
