The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will soon unveil the new central contracts for the Indian men’s cricketers. The contracts are split into four grades, where the A-Plus category receives Rs 7 crore annually, while the A category gets Rs 5 crore. Those in Grade B and C categories earn Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively.

As per the BCCI guidelines, "athletes who meet the criteria of playing a minimum of three Tests or eight ODIs or 10 T20Is within the specified period will automatically be included in Grade C on a pro-rata basis."

According to a Cricbuzz report, three young cricketers in Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana, are set to earn their maiden BCCI central contracts.

Sharma has featured in 12 Twenty20 Internationals during the allotted time frame, which is typically from October to September, and has appeared in 17 T20Is overall.

Reddy is vying for a spot on the central contracts list. With five Test matches and four T20Is under his belt, the 21-year-old all-rounder should be on the list because he has played the required amount of Test matches.

The chances of Rana being included is also very high. Having participated in two Test matches, five ODIs, and one T20I, the right-arm pacer does not meet the eligibility criteria in any of the three formats separately. However, his total number of games played qualifies him for the list.

Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is set to reclaim his annual contract list, after missing out in 2024 for failing to adhere to the board's mandate of playing domestic cricket. In addition, mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy is expected to earn a contract as well.

Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma will all remain in the A+ category, and it is unlikely that the gradings will move much — give or take two or three names.

(With Cricbuzz Inputs)