this Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) With the core contract list for the 2025-26 season recently announced, there has been a clear shift in the hierarchy within Indian cricket. Updated reserved list has senior stalwarts placed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli In Class B, at the same time Shubman Gill It has been promoted to the highest A grade, demonstrating the board’s increasing focus on the next generation.

BCCI reshapes contract structure, A+ category scrapped

In a major structural change, BCCI has done away with the A+ category for the coming season. There are currently only three grades – Grades A, B and C – and the revised system reflects a more streamlined assessment based on near-term performance, workload and long-term planning.

The highest Class A contract has been awarded to Gill, Jasprit Bumrahand Ravindra Jadejahighlighting their importance in different formats and their consistent impact in high-pressure situations.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma relegated to Grade B

Considering the stature and long history of Rohit and Kohli in Indian cricket, their inclusion in the B-series has naturally raised eyebrows. However, this decision was largely expected, as the two stalwarts are now mainly active in the form of foreign direct investment after abandoning other international commitments. While they remain influential figures in the organization, the move reflects BCCI’s intention to align contract tiers with the long-term vision for format availability, workload management and the team’s ongoing evolution.

Their Class B members include: KL Rahul,Hardik Pandya,Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyerand other stars who were promoted after solid performances.

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Mohammad Shami, Ishan Kishan are out

One of the biggest shocks on this list is the omission Mohammad ShamiHe was an A-level player last season but now finds himself without a core contract. Injuries and limited appearances appear to have been factors in the decision. at the same time, Axar Patel After an unstable year, it has been downgraded from B to C. Furthermore, like Ishan KishanSarfaraz Khan, Raja Patidarand Mukesh Kumar Totally missed it too.

BCCI Central Contract List 2025–26

• Grade A: Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja
• Grade B: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer.
• C grade: Axar Patel, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Ravi Bishnoi, Ruturaj Gaikwad

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