The BCCI is expected to roll out its central contract list pretty soon. Reports say they’re having a meeting on Saturday, and both BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and head coach Gautam Gambhir will be there. There’s a lot of buzz around some big players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja. These guys have switched gears since they’ve stopped playing T20s after the 2024 T20 World Cup win, focusing on just two formats now.
According to a report from Times of India, it looks like Rohit Sharma, who is also the captain for ODIs and Tests, along with Kohli and Jadeja, will stay in the A+ category of central contracts, which is the top tier. Along with Jasprit Bumrah, these guys are set to retain their spot in that elite category, as per the sources in the report.
There’s also some news about Shreyas Iyer. He was left out of the BCCI’s central contracts for the last season because he hadn’t been playing domestic cricket. But it seems he’s on track to come back, likely to land in that top category again. Ishan Kishan was also dropped previously, and there’s some uncertainty about whether he’ll be included this time around. A source mentioned, Shreyas is set to get his contract back, and it’ll be in a high tier. But we’re still talking about what’s up with Ishan.
Iyer has made quite a name for himself, being the top scorer in the Champions Trophy 2025, and right now he’s leading the Punjab Kings in the IPL. Then there’s Axar Patel, the left-arm spin allrounder and vice-captain of the T20 team, who might get bumped up from Grade B to Grade A, according to the report.
In terms of new contracts, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, along with allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and Abhishek Sharma, are likely to snag BCCI central contracts as well. The contract categories come with different retainership fees: A+ players earn Rs 7 crore, A players get Rs 5 crore, then it’s Rs 3 crore for Grade B and Rs 1 crore for Grade C.
To be considered for a central contract, a player needs to have participated in three Tests, eight ODIs, or 10 T20Is in a particular year. It’ll be interesting to see if promising young player Yashasvi Jaiswal moves up from his Grade B contract, given his strong performance across formats. The fresh contract list might also see Bengal’s fast bowler Akash Deep, who’s played seven Tests, along with Sarfaraz Khan, who’s played three during the year, making their way into Group C.
