New BCCI Contract List Sees Gill Rise, Kohli And Rohit Drop

MUMBAI- The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its central contracts for the 2025-26 season, signaling a clear generational shift in Indian cricket as Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were placed in the top-Grade A category, while senior stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were moved down to Grade B.

The contracts, valid from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, feature only three players in Grade A following the removal of the A+ category that existed in the previous cycle. Gill, who took over as Test and ODI captain from Rohit Sharma last year, emerged as the biggest mover in the new grading system.

Bumrah remains the only fast bowler in the top grade, underlining his importance across formats, while Jadeja’s inclusion reflects his continued value as an all-rounder and India’s most experienced active Test cricketer.

Grade B includes Kohli and Rohit, who now feature in only one international format, along with KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar. Compared to last season, the BCCI appears to have merged the earlier Grades A and B into a single middle tier, with Washington among the notable beneficiaries.

Grade C is the largest group, comprising a mix of established names and emerging talent. Players in this category include Axar Patel, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Ravi Bishnoi and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

The overall men’s contracts list has been trimmed from 34 players last season to 30 this year. Senior fast bowler Mohammed Shami, along with Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar and Mukesh Kumar, have been dropped from the latest list.

On the women’s side, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma headline the Grade A contracts, while players such as Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia and Harleen Deol feature across Grades B and C. Newer names including Uma Chetry, Kranti Gaud and Kashvee Gautam have also been awarded central contracts, highlighting the expanding depth of the senior women’s pool.

The BCCI has not disclosed the financial details of the contract categories. (IANS)