On Monday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its annual players’ contract list, and it’s no surprise that superstars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are still in the top tier. This comes just a day after they showed off their skills in the Indian Premier League (IPL), helping their teams secure wins with some impressive batting performances. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who weren’t on the list last year because of their decision to skip domestic cricket, have made a return, albeit in a lower bracket.
The contract list includes 34 players, among which Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are also in the elite A+ category, which guarantees them the highest pay. Rohit and Kohli are firmly in that A+ bracket too, but there’s some speculation about whether Rohit will lead the team for the upcoming five-Test series in England. His form with the red ball hasn’t been great lately, and the coaches haven’t made any comments about his future as captain yet. Decisions like this often involve input from various BCCI officials, including head coach Gautam Gambhir.
BCCI contracts are divided into four categories: A+, A, B, and C, with annual retainers of Rs 7 crore, Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore, and Rs 1 crore respectively. Apparently, the selectors, in coordination with Gambhir and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, prepared the list a couple of weeks ago but waited until now to make it public. Interestingly, this announcement followed outstanding performances by both Rohit, who scored an unbeaten 76, and Kohli, who made a solid 73 against Punjab Kings.
As for Iyer, he has been placed in category B, while Kishan finds himself in category C after making a comeback. Rishabh Pant, who was moved down to category B last year due to his recovery from a serious car accident, has bounced back into category A now that he’s playing regularly again, taking the spot left by retired veteran Ravichandran Ashwin.
Central contracts are based on a player’s performance over the last year. In the A+ category, you’ll find players who are key picks for all formats of the game. The A tier includes players who are almost certain to play in Test matches and also appear in limited-overs formats occasionally. Category B is for those who regularly play at least two formats, while category C is meant for newcomers or those specializing in just one format.
Some may wonder why Rohit, Kohli, and Jadeja remain in the A+ grade especially since they have retired from T20s. An unnamed BCCI official clarified this by explaining that the contracts are for the period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, but the performance evaluation runs from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Since all three players participated in the T20 World Cup final in June 2024, they were considered regulars in all formats at that time, which is why they earn their place in the A+ tier.
Meanwhile, Ishan played in a couple of World Cup matches, and Shreyas participated in 15 ODIs and a few Tests during the 2023-2024 season, landing them their respective spots. As for Pant, his downgrade to category B last year was due to his lack of play after the accident, but now that he’s returned to the field, he’s back in category A.
Suryakumar Yadav holds onto category B after a solid last year, where he was regularly playing in two formats and captaining the T20 side. There have been some changes in the lower categories as well; category C now has 19 players up from 17 last year, thanks to the inclusion of Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel, along with new faces like Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana, who made their entries between October and December 2024.
To qualify for a central contract, players need to have played three Tests, eight ODIs, or ten T20Is within a calendar year. This year, the lowest category has gained five new faces: Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Akash Deep. On a slightly disappointing note, Shardul Thakur, who has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup, is missing from the list, along with Avesh Khan, Kona Bharat, and Jitesh Sharma.
So, here’s the rundown of the updated contracts:
| Contract Category | Players |
|---|---|
| A+ | Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja |
| A | Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant |
| B | Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer |
| C | Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ishan |
This list highlights the players’ continuing evolution within Indian cricket, reflecting how they’re appreciated based on their recent performances and contributions to the sport.
