The Board of Control for Cricket in India has overhauled its central contracts for the 2025–26 season, making a clear break from the structure used last year. The biggest change is the removal of the Grade A+ category, with Grade A now becoming the top slab.
This reshuffle comes at a time when Indian cricket is going through a leadership shift and a generational change. With new captains in place and senior stars stepping away from formats, the BCCI has reworked the list to better reflect current roles and future plans.
One of the biggest talking points is the downgrade of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to Grade B. Both players retired from T20 internationals after the 2024 World Cup and then stepped away from Test cricket in 2025, which reduced their presence across formats.
Grade A, now the highest category, features players who are seen as the core of India’s plans across formats. The list includes Shubman Gill, who has taken over as Test and ODI captain, along with Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shreyas Iyer.
Several players have been rewarded with promotions to Grade B. Washington Sundar moves up from Grade C, joined by Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Grade C now largely features younger and fringe players who are part of India’s wider talent pool. Names like Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Ravi Bishnoi, and Ruturaj Gaikwad highlight the focus on future depth.
In a statement, the BCCI said the revised contracts reflect “India’s evolving team composition, changing leadership dynamics, and the increasing importance of format-specific players.”
Overall, the overhaul signals a clear shift. Multi-format performers are being rewarded, workload management is shaping decisions, and a younger core is being backed to take Indian cricket forward, while experienced names continue to play a role from lower grades.