T20 World Cup Groups Explained: Who Can Reach Super 8
Senior stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been placed in Group B, a downgrade that was largely expected following their exit from Tests and T20Is respectively, making them single-format players. Under the current criteria, which take into account performances and number of games played in the previous season, they were no longer eligible for the top tier. For the first time in his career, Shubman Gill finds himself in the top pay bracket as the dual-format skipper has remained in Group A along with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. While the BCCI has not officially disclosed the retainer amounts, Group A was previously valued at Rs 5 crore per annum, with Group B and C at Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively, before the A+ category was scrapped. The decision to scrap A+ stems from the fact that Bumrah is now the only player who remains an automatic pick across all formats. Introduced during the COA era for all-format excellence, the category previously included only Kohli, Rohit, Jadeja and Bumrah. The men’s list has been reduced from 34 to 30 players, with Shami’s exclusion seen as a strong signal that he may be out of the selectors’ immediate plans. Kishan, Mukesh and Sarfaraz were also dropped after not playing a single international match during the assessment period. While Kishan has returned to the T20I setup, this return falls under a new cycle. One notable addition is Sai Sudharsan, the only new entrant on the senior contract list. On the women’s side, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma retained their Group A status, while Jemimah Rodrigues earned promotion after outstanding World Cup performances.