BCCI Announces Central Contracts for 2024–25 Season; Pant Upgraded, New Faces Included

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the central contracts for the 2024–25 season, listing a total of 34 players. The contracts will be effective from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. Players have been categorized into four grades — A+, A, B, and C — with annual retainers ranging from ₹7 crore to ₹1 crore.

As in previous years, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah remain in the elite Grade A+, which earns players ₹7 crore annually.

Rishabh Pant has been promoted from Grade B to Grade A, joining the likes of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Hardik Pandya. Grade A players receive ₹5 crore annually.

In Grade B, which offers ₹3 crore per year, are Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Grade C, with an annual retainer of ₹1 crore, features a mix of emerging talents and consistent performers. New inclusions in this category are Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, and Shreyas Iyer.

Central Contract List 2024–25

Grade A+:
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja

Grade A:
Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya

Grade B:
Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal

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 Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana

Notably, Shardul Thakur, Jitesh Sharma, Srikar Bharat, and Avesh Khan, who were part of the previous contract cycle, have been dropped from the list.

This reshuffle reflects India’s evolving squad composition across formats, with several fresh faces rewarded for their domestic and international performances.