The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released the list of 34 players who have received central contracts on 21 April 2025. These players are divided into four categories. The Grade A+ category will receive Rs 7 crore, while players in Grade A, B, and C will get Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore, and Rs 1 crore annually, respectively.

Typically, the Grade A+ category includes players who are playing all three formats of cricket. However, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja have been included in this grade, which has surprised many. Let’s explore how Rohit, Virat, and Jadeja, who retired from T20I cricket last year, still managed to be placed in Grade A+.

Why Are Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja Included in Grade A+?

According to a report by the news agency PTI, a BCCI official explained the reason behind this decision. The official stated:

“The new central contract period runs from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, but the assessment period is from 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024. Kohli, Rohit, and Jadeja all played in the T20 World Cup 2024 final match, and during that time, they were active in all three formats. So, technically, they have been placed in the A+ category.”

Why Was Shreyas Iyer Placed in Grade A and Ishan Kishan in Grade B?

Indian team middle-order batsmen Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not included in the central contract last year. However, this year, both have made a return. Shreyas has been placed in Grade A, which means he will receive Rs 5 crore annually. On the other hand, Ishan has been placed in Grade B, earning Rs 3 crore per year.

A BCCI official explained why Shreyas and Ishan were placed in Grade A and B, stating that Shreyas played 15 ODIs and Test matches in 2023-24, while Ishan participated in 2 World Cup matches. This performance led to their placement in these categories.

Additionally, India’s star wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was placed in Grade A after making a comeback from a serious accident in late 2022. Last year, Pant was in Grade B but moved to Grade A as he played in two out of three formats in 2024.

BCCI Central Contract 2025: List of Players and Their Grades

  • A+ Category: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja
  • A Category: Mohammad Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Shami, Rishabh Pant
  • B Category: Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer
  • C Category: Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakraborty, Harshit Rana.