BCCI Central Contract 2025-26 Full List: Who Moved Up, Who Moved Down, And Who Got The Axe

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released its central contract list for 2025-26, with the major talking point being the demotion of star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. After holding the 'A+' category in the contract list for several years, both Kohli and Rohit have now been downgraded to the 'B' category. Sarfaraz Khan, Mohammed Shami and Ishan Kishan are among the notable names to not feature in the list at all, given that they did not play for India in the time period. Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has received a promotion.

It must be noted here that the BCCI has shifted from four categories to just three categories. The 'A+' tier has been removed altogether, with only the 'A', 'B' and 'C' tiers now existing.

This means that Kohli and Rohit have been demoted just one tier despite going from 'A+' to 'B', as they have gone from the highest possible category to the second-highest possible category.

Similarly, while Gill has retained the 'A' category on paper, he has technically had a promotion, as he has gone from the second-highest tier to the highest tier.

The likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal are still in the 'B' category, but have gained a promotion as the 'B' category is now the second-highest tier instead of the third-highest. Axar Patel, however, has not received the same treatment, as he has been kept in the 'C' tier for 2025-26.

Washington Sundar has received the highest bump, going up two categories.

Pacer Mukesh Kumar and batter Rajat Patidar did not feature for India in this time period, and have therefore not been retained in the BCCI's Annual Player Retainership.

B Sai Sudharsan is a new entrant.

Topics mentioned in this article

Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Shubman Gill Sarfaraz Khan Mohammad Shami Ishan Kishan Washington Sundar Axar Patel Sai Sudharsan India Cricket Team BCCI Cricket