Veteran Bangladesh cricketers Taskin Ahmed and Mushfiqur Rahim have been downgraded as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the central contracts for 2026.
Taskin has been demoted from grade A+ to grade A, whereas Mushfiqur, who was in grade A, has been demoted to grade B. Following Taskin’s demotion, there is no player in the A+ category for 2026.
Taskin Ahmed’s injury setback, Mushfiqur Rahim’s ODI retirement
Taskin had sustained an Achilles injury in 2025, which kept him out of Tests last year. However, the pacer was still active in limited-overs cricket last year, taking 8 wickets from 6 ODIs and 24 from 13 T20Is. The Dhaka-born cricketer last played a Test in December 2024 against the West Indies.
Mushfiqur Rahim, on the other hand, retired from ODIs last year, which has led to his demotion to grade B. In November last year, Rahim became the first Bangladesh player to feature in 100 Tests.
Apart from Taskin, grade A consists of Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Litton Das. Grade B, on the other hand, features Mustafizur Rahman, Towhid Hridoy, Taijul Islam, and Mominul Haque, among others.
Grade C has players like Soumya Sarkar, Jaker Ali and Shoriful Islam, whereas players like Saif Hassan and Parvez Hossain Emon are in grade D.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Grade A players will earn Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) 800,000, whereas Grade B players will earn BDT 600,000. Grade C players will get BDT 400,000, whereas players in the Grade D category will receive BDT 200,000.
Bangladesh recently withdrew from the T20 World Cup 2026 amid its refusal to play in India due to security concerns. Bangladesh wanted to play all their matches in Sri Lanka.
Scotland replaced Bangladesh in Group C following the Tigers’ withdrawal. Bangladesh will next host Pakistan in a three-match ODI series, with matches on 12, 14 and 16 March.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) central contracts for 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
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