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BCCI selection committee meets for T20 World Cup squad
One proposal under consideration is the phasing out of the Grade A+ category.
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IANS - Tue, 20, Jan 2026
- 01:54 EST
- 16
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, former Indian cricketer and BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, India’s T20 team captain Suryakumar Yadav, former cricketer Rudra Pratap Singh, and other members of the BCCI Selection Committee attend the selection meeting for Team India’s squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on December 20, 2025. / IANS/X/@BCCI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will discuss possible changes to the India men’s central contracts system at its next Apex Council meeting, following proposals from the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee.
Sources told IANS on Jan. 20 that the five-member selection panel has submitted recommendations, though BCCI’s top officials have yet to formally review them. The proposals are expected to be taken up once the Apex Council meeting is scheduled.
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“A possibility of changes in the grading system of India men’s central contracts will be discussed at the next BCCI Apex Council meeting,” a source said. “The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is learnt to have made some proposals, which will be deliberated upon when the meeting is held.”
One proposal under consideration is the phasing out of the Grade A+ category. Any decision on the future of that grade, along with potential changes to retainer amounts, would be implemented only after approval by the Apex Council.
Currently, annual retainers for India’s men’s cricketers are divided into four grades — A+, A, B and C — in addition to match fees across formats. Grade A+ players receive Rs 7 crore annually, followed by Rs 5 crore for Grade A, Rs 3 crore for Grade B and Rs 1 crore for Grade C.
At present, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are in the A+ bracket. With possible changes to the system, questions remain over whether Kohli and Rohit, who now play only ODIs, and Jadeja, who plays Tests and ODIs, would continue in the top tier if the grading structure is revised.
Under the 2024–25 central contracts announced on April 21, 2025, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill — now India’s Test and ODI captain — Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant were placed in Grade A. India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, along with Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer, featured in Grade B.
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.
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