Mumbai– Indian cricket veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have retained their prestigious A+ contracts in the BCCI’s annual player retainership for the 2024–25 season, despite both having retired from T20 internationals. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the full list of contracted players on Monday.
The elite A+ category, which guarantees an annual salary of ₹7 crore (excluding match fees and performance incentives), also continues to include fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has also stepped away from T20I cricket.
In a significant update, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have made their way back into the central contracts list. Iyer has been placed in the Grade B category, while Kishan has been included in Grade C. Both players were omitted last year due to non-participation in domestic cricket.
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been promoted to Grade A, replacing Ravichandran Ashwin, who recently retired from international cricket. Pant was previously listed in Grade B.
Several young players have earned their first central contracts this year, all in Grade C. New additions include Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Abhishek Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Akash Deep, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Harshit Rana.
Meanwhile, players like Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, KS Bharat, and Avesh Khan—who were part of the Grade C list last season—have been dropped from the new retainership list.
A total of 34 players have been awarded central contracts for the 2024–25 cycle, covering the period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.
BCCI Annual Central Contracts (2024–25):
Grade A+: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja
Grade A: Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant
Grade B: Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer
Grade C: 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 Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana
The BCCI’s central contract system is designed to recognize performance, availability, and commitment to domestic and international cricket, while also rewarding players who consistently contribute to India’s success on the field. (Source: IANS)
