The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially unveiled the central contracts for Team India’s Senior Men and Senior Women for the 2025–26 season, covering the period from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. The latest BCCI contract list has thrown up a few headline-grabbing changes, most notably the demotion of senior stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to Grade B.
In a significant reshuffle, the BCCI has also scrapped the A+ category, streamlining the contract structure and placing greater emphasis on current formats and workload. Under the new hierarchy, only three players — Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja — have been placed in Grade A, now the top tier.
A total of 30 men’s cricketers have been awarded central contracts this season, reflecting the board’s push to reward consistent performers and those available across formats. With Kohli and Rohit having stepped away from Test cricket and T20Is, their demotion was largely expected, as the BCCI’s criteria heavily weigh format participation and match volume from the previous season.
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While the BCCI is yet to confirm whether the payment structure will change for 2025–26, last season’s figures saw Grade A players earning ₹5 crore annually, Grade B ₹3 crore, and Grade C ₹1 crore. The now-discontinued A+ category previously carried a ₹7 crore retainer.
Only 3 Grades in #BCCI annual Contracts …
Before After pic.twitter.com/WNr2AfEUZk
— Amit Singh (@RockstarAmit) February 10, 2026
Alongside Kohli and Rohit, Grade B features key names such as KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar, while Grade C includes a mix of established and emerging talents like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Sudharsan and Varun Chakravarthy.
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On the women’s side, 21 players have been handed central contracts across Grades A, B, and C. Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma retained their places in the top bracket, while Jemimah Rodrigues earned a deserved promotion to Grade A following her standout performances in high-pressure matches, including the World Cup semi-final against Australia.
Sneh Rana moved up to Grade B alongside Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh and Renuka Singh Thakur. The women’s retainer fees currently stand at ₹50 lakh for Grade A, ₹30 lakh for Grade B and ₹10 lakh for Grade C, underlining the growing professional structure around Indian women’s cricket.
