Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan Return to BCCI Central Contracts; Rishabh Pant Upgraded

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced its list of centrally contracted players for the 2024–25 season, with 34 players receiving retainers—up from 30 the previous year. Among the key changes, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan make their return to the contracts list, while Rishabh Pant has been promoted following a successful comeback from injury.

Top Bracket Unchanged, Ashwin Omitted

The elite A+ category remains largely unchanged, featuring Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja. Veteran spinner R Ashwin, who retired from international cricket in late 2024, has been excluded.

Notably, Rohit, Kohli, and Jadeja retain their top-tier status despite stepping away from T20Is after India’s victorious campaign at the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Pant Back in Form and in Grade A

Rishabh Pant, previously demoted to Grade B after missing over a year due to a serious car accident in December 2022, has been elevated back to Grade A. Since his return in IPL 2024, Pant has re-established himself across all formats, playing ten Tests, one ODI, and ten T20Is for India.

Joining Pant in Grade A are Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, and Mohammed Shami.

Redemption for Iyer and Kishan

After being dropped from the 2023–24 contracts list due to non-participation in domestic cricket, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have been reinstated—albeit in different categories. Iyer finds himself in Grade B, while Kishan has been placed in Grade C.

Both players had previously fallen out of favor after prioritizing alternative commitments over domestic cricket. Kishan had opted to play the DY Patil T20 tournament instead of returning for Jharkhand, while Iyer cited back spasms and missed Mumbai’s matches. However, they later returned to domestic duties.

Since then, Iyer has enjoyed a remarkable run of success, contributing to five major title wins since March 2024: an IPL title with KKR, as well as Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup, and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy wins with Mumbai. He was also a standout performer in India's Champions Trophy win, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer with 243 runs in five innings.

New Faces and Notable Omissions

Seven new players have entered the BCCI’s central contracts list, all in Grade C:

Nitish Kumar Reddy
Dhruv Jurel
Abhishek Sharma
Sarfaraz Khan
Akash Deep
Varun Chakravarthy
Harshit Rana

On the other hand, Shardul Thakur, KS Bharat, Avesh Khan, and Jitesh Sharma, all previously in Grade C, have been dropped.

The BCCI did not officially disclose the retainers’ financial values, but sources suggest they remain at:

INR 7 crore for A+
INR 5 crore for A
INR 3 crore for B
INR 1 crore for C

Full List of Contracted Players for 2024–25

Category A+:
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja

Category A:
Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant

Category B:
Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer

Category C:
Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, 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 Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana