New Delhi: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reportedly decided to exclude the A+ category from their men’s central contract list for the 2026 season. The decision has been taken due to the lack of players in the Bangladesh national team who play all three formats of the game.
As per Cricbuzz, the Bangladesh cricket operation committee has prepared a list of 27 cricketers who are likely to be included in the central contract list. The players will be divided across four categories – A, B, C and D. BCB is planning to remove the A+ category, which used to be the top bracket.
The A+ category was meant for top players, who represented Bangladesh in all three formats. The board feels there are no such players in the setup at present and thus have decided to remove the top category. However, the BCB is yet to approve the salary structure for the 2026 central contracts.
“We are not having any A+ category in the central contract this year. None of our cricketers are currently playing across all three formats regularly which was one of the prerequisites to get into the A+ bracket of the central contract We have prepared a list of 27 cricketers and now waiting for the final approval of the board,” a BCB official was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
The development comes after Bangladesh were replaced in the T20 World Cup 2026 following their refusal to travel to India for their matches due to security reasons. Though both events might be unrelated, BCB’s move to remove the A+ category from the central contract list has certainly raised eyebrows.
Bangladesh to launch new tournament after T20 World Cup snub
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has also decided to launch a new tournament for the cricketers in the country after the Bangladesh men’s team was replaced by Scotland in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Bangladesh were set to take part in the T20 World Cup, which is set to be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 07.
However, they were replaced by ICC in the tournament last month over their refusal to travel to India. After the T20 World Cup snub, BCB has decided to launch a T20 tournament to keep its players engaged. The BCB announced on Saturday that they are launching the ODOMMO Bangladesh T20 Cup – a three-team tournament.
The T20 tournament will feature the best players from Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s T20 skipper Litton Das will lead Dhumketu XI, while Najmul Hossain Shanto will be captaining Durbar XI. Akbar Ali will be the captain of Duronto XI, the third team in the tournament.
Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced that the tournament will have prize money and fees worth 2.5 Crore Bangladeshi taka. The move comes after the Bangladesh players expressed their disappointment over missing out on the T20 World Cup 2026.