BCCI Central Contracts 2025–26: Rohit, Kohli Demoted to Grade B

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have reportedly been moved from the top bracket to Grade B in the BCCI’s central contracts for the 2025–26 season, as per reports, marking a significant shift in the Indian cricket board’s annual player grading.

According to the report, the BCCI has placed both senior batters in the Grade B category, along with India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav. The development comes amid a restructuring of the central contract system, with the Grade A+ tier reportedly being discontinued.

The report states that only three players have been included in Grade A this year: India Test captain Shubman Gill, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, and senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, making it the most exclusive category in the 2025–26 contracts list.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli currently represent India in only one format each, with Rohit having retired from Test cricket and Kohli stepping away from T20 internationals. Despite their limited-format roles, both players have delivered strong performances in recent series, sparking debate among fans and experts over their long-term fitness and availability leading up to the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Under the previous pay structure, players in the Grade A+ category earned Rs 7 crore annually, while Grade A players received Rs 5 crore, Grade B players Rs 3 crore, and Grade C players Rs 1 crore per year. With the reported removal of the Grade A+ bracket, clarity is awaited on how the revised remuneration system will be implemented.

Reported BCCI Central Contracts List 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 Sudarshan, Ravi Bishnoi, Ruturaj Gaikwad

The BCCI is yet to make an official announcement on the contracts or confirm changes to the grading and payment structure.