The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced the Annual Player Retainership (central contracts) for Team India Senior Men for the 2025-26 season, signaling a massive shift in the hierarchy of Indian cricket.
The central contracts which covers the period from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, comprising 30 players across three grades, reflects a notable restructuring, including the apparent scrapping of the elite A+ category from previous years.
In a move that has stunned many, the prestigious Grade A+ category has been discontinued, leading to the demotion of modern-day legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to Grade B. With Rohit and Virat having retired from T20Is and Tests to focus solely on the ODI format, they no longer fit the criteria for the top tier, which is now reserved for “all-format” players.
Add Zee News as a Preferred Source
While the biggest headlines surround the demotion of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to Grade B, the real shock lies in the names that have been dropped entirely.
Here are the five key players who missed out on BCCI’s central contract for 2025-26 season and the likely reasoning behind the board’s decision:
1. Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami, the experienced pacer, previously in a higher grade, has been excluded amid ongoing fitness concerns and limited international appearances. Despite being India’s joint-highest wicket-taker in the triumphant 2025 Champions Trophy campaign and his proven track record in Tests and ODIs, Shami’s absence suggests the selectors are looking toward a younger pace battery for the future
2. Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan’s contract saga continues. After losing his contract in the previous cycle, there was hope he might regain it following his recent return to the T20I setup. However, the evaluation period focused on his lack of consistent international appearances over the last year. While he remains in the mix for the 2026 T20 World Cup, he will have to play without the security of a central contract for now.
3. Sarfaraz Khan
After a fairytale debut in early 2024, Sarfaraz Khan has struggled to find a permanent home in the Test XI. Despite his prolific domestic record, his lack of consistent opportunities in the national side during the evaluation window meant he did not meet the minimum match criteria required to hold a Grade C contract this season.
4. Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar, the stylish middle-order batter, who captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to IPL success and debuted for India in Test cricket in England series, has also been left out. Like others on this list, his exclusion stems from no international outings in the evaluation timeframe.
5. Mukesh Kumar
A regular in the squad across formats just a year ago, Mukesh Kumar has fallen down the pecking order. With the emergence of Harshit Rana and Akash Deep as preferred red-ball backups, and the return of others in white-ball cricket, Mukesh found himself without a spot in the 30-man list.
Why were they dropped?
The BCCI has moved toward a more streamlined three-tier structure (Grade A, B, and C), having officially scrapped the Grade A+ category. The new policy prioritizes:
Multi-format availability: Players who play only one format (like Kohli and Rohit) were ineligible for the top tier.
Minimum Match Threshold: Players like Sarfaraz and Patidar missed out because they did not feature in the required number of matches during the evaluation period.
Future Planning: The exclusion of Md Shami indicates a transition phase as India looks ahead towards the future.
List of BCCI-contracted players for 2025-26
Category A: Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja.
Category B: Washington Sundar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer.
Category C: Axar Patel, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, B Sai Sudharsan, Ravi Bishnoi, Ruturaj Gaikwad.