Shreyas Iyer, the captain of the Punjab Kings and a prominent player in India’s ODI team, is likely to get his central contract back from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the 2024-25 season. It looks like the announcement about player contracts will be made soon—maybe even this week. They’re going to sort things out after a meeting in Guwahati on March 29 that involves BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Shreyas and Ishan Kishan from Sunrisers Hyderabad lost their BCCI contracts last year. The board was unhappy with them because they didn’t play in domestic matches for their home states, Mumbai and Jharkhand, while they were not on the national team. Kishan’s situation seems a bit more complicated because he hasn’t played any international cricket since late 2023, and the BCCI has certain rules for players to keep their contracts. To qualify, players are expected to participate in either three Tests, eight ODIs, or 10 T20 matches in a year.
A source mentioned that Shreyas is going to get his contract back, and it’s likely to be one of the top categories. However, there’s still some uncertainty about Ishan’s situation. As for Gambhir, he’s currently enjoying a family vacation in France.
Switching gears to the IPL, Guwahati’s Baraspara Stadium is gearing up for its next match in the ongoing IPL 2025 season, featuring the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. Shreyas has had a great year overall, having led the Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL 2024 title and winning various domestic trophies with Mumbai. Plus, he’s been on fire in the 2025 Champions Trophy, where he was India’s top run-scorer.
The BCCI’s contracts are typically ranked in four different pay categories. The A-Plus category players rake in a whopping Rs 7 crore, while those in category A receive Rs 5 crore, and the B and C grades earn Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively. There’s been a lot of chatter around whether Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja will keep their spots in the A-Plus bracket. Some folks have questioned this because the A-Plus tier is generally for players who participate in every format, and all three have stepped back from T20s.
On a brighter note, it’s also being reported that Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Abhishek Sharma will be getting their first central contracts this time around. It’ll be interesting to see how everything pans out when the BCCI officially announces the new contracts.
