BCCI Central Contracts 2025-26: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma in Category B, Axar Patel disrespected
Published - 07 Feb 2026, 09:39 AM | Updated - 07 Feb 2026, 11:34 PM
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly finalized its central contracts list for the 2025-26 season, featuring 30 players. Former captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have retired from T20Is and Tests, have been placed in Group B after previously being part of the top Group A+ category.
The BCCI has reportedly scrapped the Grade A+ category from its central contracts. Earlier, Grade A+ players earned ₹7 crore per year, while Grade A players received ₹5 crore, Grade B got ₹3 crore, and Grade C earned ₹1 crore annually. However, there is still no clarity on player salaries under the new system.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma Placed in Category B of BCCI Central Contracts 2025-26
According to a report in Dainik Jagran, only three players have been placed in Group A of the BCCI central contracts this season. Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja have been placed in the top category. Gill leads India in Tests and ODIs, while Bumrah and Jadeja remain key players.
India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has been placed in Group B. He is joined by KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shreyas Iyer.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have also been kept in Group B. Both have retired from Test and T20I cricket, and the top contract tier usually includes players who feature in at least two formats.
Despite being in good form in recent series, there is growing debate over whether the two senior batters can maintain fitness and performance levels until the ODI World Cup in 2027.
Category C List and Key Omissions in BCCI Central Contracts
The board has included 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, and Ruturaj Gaikwad in Category C.
One major surprise is the absence of Ishan Kishan from all contract categories. His omission has raised eyebrows, as he was part of the T20 World Cup squad and recently delivered a strong performance against New Zealand.
Other notable names missing from the list are Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar, who were placed in Grade C last season. Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who featured in Grade A last year, has also been left out.
In women’s cricket, the BCCI has kept World Cup-winning captain Harmanpreet Kaur in the top category along with Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma. Meanwhile, Shafali Varma and Richa Ghosh have been placed in Group B.
BCCI's Annual Contract List For Men
| Category A | |
S.No | Player |
| 1 | Shubman Gill |
| 2 | Jasprit Bumrah |
| 3 | Ravindra Jadeja |
| Category B | |
S.No | Player |
| 1 | Rohit Sharma |
| 2 | Virat Kohli |
| 3 | Suryakumar Yadav |
| 4 | Washington Sundar |
| 5 | KL Rahul |
| 6 | Hardik Pandya |
| 7 | Mohammed Siraj |
| 8 | Rishabh Pant |
| 9 | Kuldeep Yadav |
| 10 | Yashasvi Jaiswal |
| 11 | Shreyas Iyer |
| Category C | |
S.No | Player |
| 1 | Axar Patel |
| 2 | Tilak Varma |
| 3 | Rinku Singh |
| 4 | Shivam Dube |
| 5 | Sanju Samson |
| 6 | Arshdeep Singh |
| 7 | Prasidh Krishna |
| 8 | Akash Deep |
| 9 | Dhruv Jurel |
| 10 | Harshit Rana |
| 11 | Varun |
| 12 | Nitish Kumar Reddy |
| 13 | Abhishek Sharma |
| 14 | Sai Sudharsan |
| 15 | Ravi Bishnoi |
| 16 | Ruturaj Gaikwad |
BCCI's Annual Contract List For Women
| Category A | |
S.No | Player |
| 1 | Harmanpreet Kaur |
| 2 | Smriti Mandhana |
| 3 | Jemimah Rodrigues |
| 4 | Deepti Sharma |
| Category B | |
S.No | Player |
| 1 | Renuka Thakur |
| 2 | Shafali Verma |
| 3 | Richa Ghosh |
| 4 | Sneh Rana |
| Category C | |
S.No | Player |
| 1 | Radha Yadav |
| 2 | Amanjot Kaur |
| 3 | Pratika Rawal |
| 4 | Kranti Goud |
| 5 | Uma Chetry |
| 6 | Archana Reddy |
| 7 | Shri Charani |
| 8 | Yastika Bhatia |
| 9 | Harleen Deol |
| 10 | Kashvee Gautam |
| 11 | G. Kamalini |
| 12 | Vaishnavi Sharma |
| 13 | Tejal |
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BCCI Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Shubman Gill Jasprit Bumrah Ravindra Jadeja Suryakumar Yadav Smriti Mandhana Harmanpreet Kaur Shafali Verma India National Cricket Team India Women's National Cricket TeamAbout the Author
Sai Vaitla is an author at Cricketaddictor and he has been working since September 2022. Sai Vaitla...
