India’s opening fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill and veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are the only three players who have been awarded Central Grade A contracts by the BCCI for the 2025-26 season. In a major restructuring, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has scrapped the A+ category, making A the highest tier in the revised list of central contracts. BCCI) announces annual player contracts for Team India Senior Men (BCCI Photo)
Former captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who now feature only in the ODI format, have been placed in the Grade B category. The two modern-day greats were earlier part of the top tier A+ but have been demoted as they currently play only one of the three international formats.
India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has also been included in the B category in the BCCI’s annual contract list. He is joined by KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer.
Category C includes 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 Sudarshan, Ravi Bgtura and Ravi B.
Meanwhile, senior pacer Mohammed Shami has been dropped from the BCCI’s annual contract list. Shami has not played a single international match for India since the 2025 Champions Trophy final against New Zealand.
Notably, Ishan Kishan does not feature in any of the categories, raising questions about his exclusion from the annual contract list. This is despite his selection for the T20 World Cup and an impressive performance against New Zealand in the recent matches.
KEY CHANGES TO BCCI TENANCY AGREEMENTS 2025-2026
- Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were relegated to the second category following the conclusion of Tests and T20Is.
- Shubman Gill promoted from B to Group A top tier.
- Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja retain their contract in the upper bracket.
- Washington Sundar promoted from C to B grade.
- Shreyas Iyer back in contract at B.
- Mohammed Shami dropped from BCCI’s annual contract list
NEW BCCI CONTRACT LIST FOR MEN
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.
Class C: Axar Patel, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurail, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudarshan, Ravi. Bishnoi
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
February 9, 2026
