The wait for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contract list would be over anytime soon. Contradicting previous reports that claimed that we might have to possibly wait till October, the fresh claims have been that the central contracts would be rolled out very soon. Fantastically, we might see a major shakeup among spinners, with Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav likely to get promoted from Grade B to Grade A.
BCCI plans bumper central contracts for Axar-Kuldeep
According to ANI, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to reward India’s ace spin duo, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, with bumper central contracts. The pair played crucial roles in India’s recent ICC title wins, including the T20 World Cup 2024 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Kuldeep’s 17 wickets at an average of 20.88 and an economy rate of 5.92 across the two tournaments have made a strong case for his promotion. Axar, meanwhile, has been a revelation with the bat and ball, scoring 201 runs at a strike rate of 96.63 and picking up 14 wickets at an average of 19.57. In almost all the matches when India’s top order failed, the Delhi Capitals captain was India’s Mr. Crisis.
With them being almost irreplaceable, Axar and Kuldeep are likely to be upgraded to Grade A, earning Rs 5 crore annually. Meanwhile, the four players in the A+ category currently – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja – are likely to continue in the elite list.
Also, one major name who is all but confirmed to move out from category B is Ravichandran Ashwin, who announced his retirement from international cricket during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) last year.
Fee Structure as per BCCI Central Contract List
| Grade | Annual Amount |
|---|---|
| A+ | ₹7 Crore |
| A | ₹5 Crore |
| B | ₹3 Crore |
| C | ₹1 Crore |
BCCI central contracts for 2023/24
- Grade A+ (4 Athletes)
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
- Grade A (6 Athletes)
R Ashwin, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
- Grade B (5 Athletes)
Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
- Grade C (15 Athletes)
Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, KS Bharat, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Rajat Patidar
