BCCI To Review India Men’s Central Contract Structure At Apex Council Meeting

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will review potential changes to the India men’s central contracts. This discussion will take place at its upcoming Apex Council meeting.

The five-member selection panel is led by Ajit Agarkar. It has prepared the revisions, although it has not yet formally submitted the proposals to the board’s senior officials.

According to sources, the current grading system categorises players into A+, A, B, and C tiers. This system could see significant updates, including the possible removal of the top-tier Grade A+.

Any alterations to retainer amounts or match fees will only take effect once the Apex Council formally approves them.

At present, Grade A+ players earn ₹7 crore annually, Grade A players receive ₹5 crore, Grade B players receive ₹3 crore, and Grade C ₹1 crore, alongside standard match fees for Tests, ODIs, and T20Is.

Senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja currently occupy the A+ category.

If the system changes, observers will have to see whether Kohli and Rohit, who primarily play ODIs, and Jadeja, who plays both Tests and ODIs, retain their top-tier status.

For the 2024/25 season, players such as Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, and Rishabh Pant were classified in Grade A.

The BCCI placed T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shreyas Iyer in Grade B.

Emerging talents in Grade C included Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, 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, and Harshit Rana.

The Apex Council meeting will finalise any proposed revisions to grading and retainer structures. It will clarify the remuneration framework for India’s men’s cricket team.

The changes, once approved, are expected to balance rewards for senior players with incentives for emerging talent. They will also align with the BCCI’s overall approach to player contracts.

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