The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced its 2026 central contracts for the national men’s team, with notable changes to its top categories. Pacer Taskin Ahmed and senior batter Mushfiqur Rahim have both been demoted in the new gradation list.
Taskin, who was the only player in the A-plus category in 2025 with a monthly salary of BDT 1 million (approximately USD 8,169), has now been placed in Grade A. This category offers BDT 800,000 (around USD 6,535) per month. No player has been included in the A-plus bracket this year. Taskin joins Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, ODI captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz and T20I captain Litton Das in Grade A.
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While the reason behind Taskin’s demotion has not been clarified, he has remained one of Bangladesh’s key bowlers across formats, with his workload often managed to maintain fitness.
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Mushfiqur, who retired from ODIs in 2025, has dropped from Grade A to Grade B and will now earn BDT 600,000 (approximately USD 4,901) per month. Ten other players are in Grade B, including Test specialists Mominul Haque, Taijul Islam and Shadman Islam. Shadman is among four players promoted from Grade C to B, along with Tanzid Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Mahedi Hasan.
Grade C and D players will earn BDT 400,000 and BDT 200,000 per month respectively. The BCB has expanded Grade D to seven players this year, including Saif Hassan and Nurul Hasan.
Bangladesh, who were replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup after their demands of shifting their matches out of India due to security concerns were rejected by the International Cricket Council (ICC), are set to return to international action with a three-match ODI series against Pakistan at home on March 12, 14 and 16.
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