The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a major overhaul of its central contract system for the 2025-26 season, bringing significant
changes for some of the country's biggest names.
In a notable move, former India captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been placed in Grade B after the board decided to discontinue the elite Grade A+ category.
Kohli and Rohit, who were part of the top contract bracket last season, are now active in only one format each. Both stalwarts stepped away from T20 internationals after India's title triumph at the 2024 World Cup and later retired from Test cricket in May 2025. With their reduced international commitments, the BCCI's revised structure reflects a sharper focus on multi-format availability.
The highest bracket under the new system, Grade A, features Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. Gill, currently leading India in Tests and ODIs, remains a central figure in the national setup despite being left out of the 2026 T20 World Cup squad.
Bumrah continues to spearhead India's pace attack, managing his workload across formats. While he has not featured in ODIs since the 2023 World Cup, the fast bowler is expected to prioritise the 50-over format in the lead-up to the 2027 World Cup. Jadeja, meanwhile, remains a key contributor in Tests and ODIs and is now India's most experienced Test player following the retirement of Kohli and Rohit.
Rishabh Pant has also been placed in Grade B despite being a regular in Tests and ODIs. Appointed vice-captain of the Test side in 2025, Pant recently captained India for the first time in a Test against South Africa. Shreyas Iyer, India's ODI vice-captain, has also received a Grade B contract as he continues his recovery from a back injury. T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, who has not featured in Tests or ODIs since 2023, is part of the same bracket.
| Players With Grade A Contract | Players With Grade B Contract | Players With Grade C Contract |
|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill | Virat Kohli | Tilak Varma |
| Ravindra Jadeja | Rohit Sharma | Axar Patel |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Washington Sundar | Shivam Dube |
| KL Rahul | Rinku Singh | |
| Mohammed Siraj | Arshdeep Singh | |
| Rishabh Pant | Sanju Samson | |
| Hardik Pandya | Akash Deep | |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Prasidh Krishna | |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Dhruv Jurel | |
| Suryakumar Yadav | Harshit Rana | |
| Shreyas Iyer | Varun Chakaravarthy | |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | ||
| Abhishek Sharma | ||
| Sai Sudharsan | ||
| Ravi Bishnoi | ||
| Ruturaj Gaikwad |
