The BCCI, in February, released the new Annual Player Contracts for Team India Senior Men and Senior Women for the 2025-26 season (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026). Thirty senior men’s cricketers were awarded central contracts, with the BCCI doing away with the A+ grade. Only three cricketers – Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja-were placed in Grade A, the top tier as per the latest decision by the board.
As per the 2024-25 BCCI contracts, any player in Grade A would receive Rs 5 crore annually, while Grade B players would get Rs 3 crore. Grade C players earn Rs 1 crore. Earlier, Grade A+ players (Kohli, Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja) used to receive Rs 7 crore. The BCCI has not yet officially declared whether the payment structure for 2025-26 will be any different.
While Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja have retired from one or two formats, their demotion was understandable. However, Bumrah is playing in all formats, and his demotion means that he loses out on Rs 2 crore annually.
Now, according to a TOI report, the BCCI is likely to “figure out” how Bumrah can be compensated.
“The board is trying to figure out how Bumrah can be compensated. It is understandable that it will be unfair to slash his fees from Rs 7 crore to Rs 5 crore. There are some other players also who seem to have moved down a grade despite being performers. There could be a revision in the valuation of the contracts,” a BCCI source said.
The contract of Axar Patel, who has been placed in Group C, may also be revisited, said the report. Even players like KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant have been demoted to Grade B from Grade A.
Bumrah will next play for Mumbai Indians at the IPL 2026.
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