New Delhi: Mushfiqur Rahim and Taskin Ahmed have been demoted to lower grades in the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s updated central contracts list for the men’s cricketers for 2026. While Taskin was slotted in Grade A, Mushfiqur was dropped to Grade B as BCB announced the central contracts list without the A+ category.
Taskin was the only Grade A+ player in the 2025 list, with a monthly salary of BDT 1 million (US $8169 approx.), He now finds himself in the Grade A category with Test, ODI and T20I captains Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Litton Das.
Grade A is the second tier of BCB’s gradation policy, with a salary of BDT 800,000 (US $6535 approx.) per month.
Taskin demoted despite strong showing in 2025
The move to demote Taskin has raised some eyebrows due to his strong performances with the ball over the year. Meanwhile, Mushfiqur, who quit ODI cricket in 2025, has been demoted to Grade B, where he will earn BDT 600,000 (US $4901 approx.) per month.
He is joined by 10 other players in the B category, including Test regulars Mominul Haque, Taijul Islam and Shadman Islam.
Shadman has been promoted from Grade C to B, along with Tanzid Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Mahedi Hasan.
The 2026 contracts list has more occupants in Grade D than last year, when only two cricketers were part of that category. But in the 2026 list, there are seven players, including Saif Hassan and Nurul Hasan, who made a comeback in the T20I team last year.
In Grades C and D, players earn BDT 400,000 (approximately US$3,267) and BDT 200,000 (approximately US$1,633) per month, respectively.
After missing the T20 World Cup due to a bitter stand-off with the International Cricket Council (ICC), Bangladesh will resume playing international cricket with a three-match ODI series against Pakistan at home on March 11, 13 and 15.
Bangladesh central contracts list (2026)
Grade A: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Litton Das and Taskin Ahmed
Grade B: Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Towhid Hridoy, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana
Grade C: Soumya Sarkar, Jaker Ali, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan, Nasum Ahmed and Khaled Ahmed
Grade D: Saif Hassan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanvir Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Murad, Shamim Hossain and Nurul Hasan