The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has declared its Annual Player Retainership scheme for the 2025-26 cricket season, which includes a new payment structure for Indian cricket’s top players. The central contracts include the men’s and women’s top national teams. They are effective from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. The main changes include the abolishment of the A+ grade, with only Grade A, Grade B, and Grade C remaining as part of the central contract system. The new format matches grades with players according to their responsibilities and availability, with only a few selected players being part of the highest grade. Major Changes in BCCI Contracts as Kohli, Rohit Moved Down in 2025–26 The elimination of the A+ category has significantly transformed the core contract model, with only three players featuring in the top contract category: Grade A. Also Read | Watch: Glenn Phillips Pulls Off Stunning Superman Dive to Save Boundary vs UAE As mentioned in one of our previous reports, former T20Is and Test cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have now been shifted to Grade B in the latest BCCI central contracts list, along with Rahul. Several of the senior players, such as Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer, have also been included in Grade B. In the meantime, Shubman Gill, who leads India in Tests and ODIs, retains his grade A status along with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. In women’s contracts too, Jemimah Rodrigues received a promotion from Grade B to Grade A, while Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, and Smriti Mandhana retained their place in the highest-paid grade. Sneh Rana has been promoted to Grade B, like Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, while there are 13 players who got promoted to Grade C. BCCI 2025–26 Central Contracts: Men’s & Women’s Categories Explained Men's Grade Players A Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja B Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer C 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 Women's Grade Players A Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma B Renuka Thakur, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Sneh Rana C Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Pratika Rawal, Kranti Gaud, Uma Chetry, Arundhati Reddy, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, G Kamalini, Vaishnavi Sharma, Tejal Hasabnis Read Also | BCCI Issues First Official Statement After Pakistan Takes U-Turn on India Match India’s Highest Paid Cricketers: 2025-26 Season The players in Grade A+ were getting approximately ₹7 crore annually, while those in Grade A, B, and C received ₹5 crore, ₹3 crore, and ₹1 crore, respectively, in the earlier pay structure. However, the exact amount for the current cycle still remains to be confirmed. In the women’s contracts, the three categories would command an annual retainer of Rs 50 lakh, Rs 30 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh, respectively.