![PCB vs BCCI [Source: @NisarsaadSaad/X.com and BCCI/X]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1756369082001_BCCI_vs_PCB.jpg?type=mq)
PCB vs BCCI [Source: @NisarsaadSaad/X.com and BCCI/X]
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced its central contracts for the 2025–26 season, and the news has caused quite a stir. For the first time, the board has not awarded a single player a Category A contract, which is usually reserved for the country’s biggest stars.
Even household names like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been demoted to Category B after what the board called inconsistent performances. The new contracts will run from July 2025 to June 2026, covering 30 players who have been evenly divided across Categories B, C, and D.
Under this new structure, Pakistan players in Category B will earn PKR 3 million per month (around ₹8.7 lakh). Category C players will get PKR 1.5 million per month (around ₹4.3 lakh), while those in Category D will receive PKR 0.75 million per month (around ₹2.1 lakh).
Last year, players in Category A earned PKR 4.5 million per month (around ₹13.1 lakh), but this time, no one has been considered worthy of that top bracket. In addition to their monthly salaries, match fees have also been revised. Pakistan cricketers will now get PKR 1.25 million per Test match, PKR 6.44 lakh for an ODI, and PKR 4.18 lakh for a T20I.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) follows a different approach. Its annual contracts for 2024–25 run from October 2024 to September 2025 and are divided into four categories: A+, A, B, and C. Unlike Pakistan, India continues to reward its biggest names with lucrative top-tier deals. Players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja are in the elite A+ category, each earning ₹7 crore per year.
The A category includes stars such as KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, and Rishabh Pant, who each earn ₹5 crore annually. The B category offers ₹3 crore per year to players like Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, and Shreyas Iyer, while the C category players, which includes upcoming names like Ishan Kishan, Rinku Singh, and Sanju Samson, earn ₹1 crore per year.
Tier-Wise Players And Salary Comparison
| Tier | PCB Players (2025–26) | Salary | BCCI Players (2024–25) | Salary |
| Top Tier | No Players | PKR 4.5M/month (~₹1.57 crore annually) | Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja | ₹7 crore |
| 2nd Tier | Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha | PKR 3M/month (~₹1.05 crore annually) | KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant | ₹5 crore |
| 3rd Tier | Naseem Shah, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan | PKR 1.5M/month (~₹52 lakh annually) | Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal | ₹3 crore |
| 4th Tier | Shan Masood, Mohammad Abbas, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza, Ahmed Daniyal, Sufyan Muqim | PKR 0.75M/month (~₹26 lakh annually) | Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Verma, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep | ₹1 crore |
When the two boards are compared, the gap in financial rewards becomes clear. While Pakistan’s top bracket currently has no players at all, India’s leading cricketers are among the highest-paid in the world. Even Pakistan’s Category B players, earning the equivalent of around ₹1.57 crore annually, fall far short of India’s Grade A+ stars, who take home ₹7 crore a year.
