CHENNAI: Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan made their way back into the central contracts as the BCCI announced the list for the ongoing international season (it's set to conclude on September 30, 2025). Among other talking points, keeper-batter Rishab Pant was promoted from Grade B to A after his comeback season with the Indian team.
It had been in the works for a while and there are few surprises, but the return of Iyer and Kishan remain the biggest highlight in the list. The duo, who despite fulfilling the minimum quota of matches for a contract on a pro rata basis, were left out of the central contracts in 2023-24. This omission came after the duo missed a round of domestic games.
Since then, Iyer, an integral cog in the ODI team, played a crucial role in India's road to title at the ICC Champions Trophy. Which is why, his inclusion in the Grade B category comes as no surprise. Meanwhile, Kishan hasn't played for India since November 2023 and when the 2024 season began, it seemed like he had a long hard road in front of him. His inclusion in Grade C, despite not playing a single game in the season, comes as a big boost for the southpaw who is trying to make a mark in the shortest format.
Apart from Kishan, as many as 18 other players have been drafted in the Grade C category. Most of them would be automatic qualification on pro rata basis (minimum of 3 Tests or 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period), especially in the shortest format.
Among the senior pros, there is little change except Pant replacing R Ashwin in Grade B. The A+ category remains the same with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja — four players who feature in at least two formats predominantly. Even though this is a list for the 2024-25 season, it is interesting to see both Rohit and Kohli in A+ category. The future of the two veteran batters were the most discussed topic in the lead up to the Champions Trophy but both of them made it clear in the weeks that followed that they were still keen on playing the two longer formats.
The picture will become clear over the next few weeks when the BCCI selects the squad for the five-match Test series in England. The other thing to note about the latest announcement is that the BCCI did not mention any fast bowling contracts which they had mentioned last season. Apart from Akash Deep, who now has a Grade C contract, there is no official information yet on whether the other four pacers — who were awarded fast bowling contracts — have been offered any sort of contract.
The BCCI haven't made a mention of the remuneration the contracts correspond to but it's Rs 7 cr (Grade A+), Rs 5 cr (Grade A), Rs 3 cr (Grade B) and Rs 1 cr (Grade C).
India men central contract 2024-25: A+ category: Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah, Jadeja; A category: Siraj, Rahul, Gill, Hardik, Shami, Pant; B category: Yadav, Kuldeep, Axar, Jaiswal, Iyer; C category: Rinku, Tilak, Gaikwad, Dube, Bishnoi, Sundar, Mukesh, Samson, Arshdeep, Prasidh, Patidar, Jurel, Sarfaraz, Nitish, Kishan, Abhishek, Akash Deep, Varun, Rana
