Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli demoted to Grade B as BCCI announces annual contracts for 2025-26

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the annual player retainership (contracts) for the 2025-26 season on Monday, February 9. The big news to come out of it is the demotion of former captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli who are now part of Grade B. Earlier, the duo were part of the A+ category but the board has done away with it completely for this season.

The major reason behind the downgrading of the India stars could be their limited involvement with the national team as the pair have retired from Tests and T20Is. Meanwhile, Grade A comprises Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja while Grade B includes senior players such as T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, among others.

A surprising development has occurred in Grade C where Axar Patel finds himself demoted from Grade B. The Gujarat all-rounder is the vice-captain of the T20I team and is a regular in the ODI and Test teams, at least in the subcontinent.

Meanwhile, the board has added Sai Sudharsan to the list. Overall, it has reduced from 34 to 30 with Mohammed Shami, Rajat Patidar, Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Kishan and Sarfaraz Khan missing the cut. Incidentally, the BCCI has not announced the payscales for the various grades.

Annual Retainership List for 2025-26

Note: The 2025-26 season runs from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026.