BCCI Includes 34 Players in 2024-25 Central Contracts; Virat, Rohit, Jadeja, and Bumrah in Grade A+ Despite Format Retirements.
BCCI Central Contract 2025: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released the new list of central contracts for 2024-25 on April 21, 2025, including a total of 34 players. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah have again been placed in the top Grade A+ category. However, a significant question arises: why are Virat, Rohit, and Jadeja included in the A+ category despite their retirement from the T20I format?
Let's understand the reason behind this decision...
Why did Virat, Rohit, and Jadeja receive Grade A+?
According to a PTI report, a BCCI official stated that the new central contract covers the period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. However, the players' performance assessment was conducted from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. During this period, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja all played in all three formats – Test, ODI, and T20I – even playing in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024. Therefore, they were considered active players across all formats at that time. Hence, including them in Grade A+ was deemed technically correct.
Player Grade Distribution in BCCI Central Contract 2025:
The BCCI has divided the players into four grades:
Grade A+ (₹7 crore annually): Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja
Grade A (₹5 crore annually): Mohammad Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant
Grade B (₹3 crore annually): Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer
Grade C (₹1 crore annually): Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana.
Return of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who were left out of the central contract last year, have made a comeback this time. Shreyas Iyer is placed in Grade A due to his participation in 15 ODIs and several Test matches. Ishan Kishan has been placed in Grade B, having played only two World Cup matches last year.
Rishabh Pant's Impressive Comeback
Rishabh Pant, who was sidelined from cricket for a long time due to an accident at the end of 2022, made a spectacular comeback in 2024. Previously in Grade B, he has been promoted to Grade A. Pant is still part of the Test and ODI formats, and this decision was made considering his recovery progress.
What does this list indicate about Team India's future?
This new BCCI central contract list clearly indicates that the board still values experienced players while also providing opportunities to new talent. The contract reflects a focus on maintaining a balance within Team India and rewarding players based on their performance.
