Mumbai: Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have successfully regained their contracts with the Indian cricket team after fulfilling the necessary requirements to return to domestic cricket. Both players, who were dropped in the previous cycle due to unsatisfactory reasons for their absence from domestic matches, are now included among the 34 contracted players for the period from October 2024 to September 2025, as announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday.

According to reports from HT, there have been no changes in the top tier, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja maintaining their A+ status. The only alteration in Grade A is the departure of Ravichandran Ashwin, who has retired from all forms of international cricket, while Rishabh Pant has been elevated from Grade B to A.

Similarly, Grade B has seen minimal changes, with Iyer reclaiming his contract in this category. The limited movement among the top 15 contracted players—especially with Rohit, Kohli, and Jadeja having retired from T20I cricket—reflects their performances during the previous cycle (October 2023 to September 2024).

During this timeframe, India achieved remarkable success in ICC white-ball tournaments under Rohit's leadership, securing victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup and finishing as runners-up in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Mohammed Shami, who was unable to participate due to injury during the review period, retained his contract as he was undergoing rehabilitation.

A more accurate evaluation of performances in Indian cricket, as it undergoes a period of transition, will only be possible when decision-makers conduct a review six months from now.

Internal discussions have indicated that the next set of contracts for the 2025-26 season should be finalized in the upcoming October. This assessment will take into account the team's performance during the home Test defeat against New Zealand, the setbacks in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, as well as the successes and failures from the forthcoming Test series in England.

Ishan Kishan is among the 19 players who have been awarded Grade C contracts. New entrants to the list include Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakravarthy, and Harshit Rana, all of whom met the criteria of participating in at least three Tests, eight ODIs, or ten T20Is during the review period. Conversely, Shardul Thakur, Jitesh Sharma, KS Bharat, and Avesh Khan have been removed from the contract list due to underperformance.

There will be no alterations to the remuneration structure, which remains at ₹7 crore for Grade A+, ₹5 crore for Grade A, ₹3 crore for Grade B, and ₹1 crore for Grade C.

WHAT’S NEW

--Rishabh Pant promoted from B to A

-- Shreyas Iyer back in Grade B

-- R Ashwin out following retirement

-- Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana added to Grade C

-- Shardul Thakur, Jitesh Sharma, KS Bharat and Avesh Khan out from Grade C

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