Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma demoted as BCCI announces central contracts; boost for Bumrah, Gill, Jadeja

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the annual contracts for senior men's and women's players for the 2025-26 season (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026). Test and ODI captains Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja have been placed in Grade A of the central contracts, while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been moved from Grade A Plus to Grade B. The main reason cited is their participation in only one format (ODIs). After removing the A Plus grade, the BCCI has awarded central contracts to thirty male players. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana, and Deepti Sharma have received Grade A contracts in the women's central contracts.

What did the BCCI announce?

The BCCI announced on Monday that it has awarded annual contracts to 30 male and 21 female cricketers in categories A, B, and C. The BCCI has not announced the retainer fees for the three categories. Previously, Grade A players received Rs 5 crore, Grade B Rs 3 crore, and Grade C Rs 1 crore. Kohli and Rohit play in only one format after retiring from Tests and T20s, and therefore cannot remain in the top category.

It is understood that the A Plus grade was introduced by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) on the suggestion of former captain MS Dhoni. This was for cricketers who performed exceptionally well in all three formats, and in all these years, only Kohli, Rohit, Jadeja, and Bumrah have been in this category. Now, three of them have retired from one or two formats, so the board does not want to keep only Bumrah in the A Plus category. Gill's participation in all formats is not guaranteed, and he did not find a place in the T20 World Cup squad.

What about Shami and Kishan?

Veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan have been left out of the contract list this time. Besides them, Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar have also not been included. Young batsman Sai Sudharsan has been included in the BCCI central contract (Grade C) for the first time.

What about Women's Central Contracts?

Along with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues has also become part of the top grade. She has been promoted considering her excellent performance in the World Cup. Renuka Thakur, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, and Sneh Rana have been placed in Group B. 13 players, including Radha Yadav, Yastika Bhatia, and Uma Chetry, have been given a place in Grade C.

Who were awarded BCCI Central Contracts 2025-26?

Grade A: Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja

Grade B: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, 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 Chakravarthy, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Ravi Bishnoi, Ruturaj Gaikwad

Annual Central Contracts (Senior Women)

Grade A: Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and 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, Sricharani, Yastika Bhatia, Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, G Kamalini