BCCI official reveals the reason behind Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma’s central contracts demotion

BCCI official confirms Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma demoted from A+ (₹7cr) to B category as board scraps top bracket. Reason: Playing only ODIs after Test/T20I retirements, simplifying 3-tier structure (A, B, C).

21 Jan 2026 13:32 IST

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Reason-why-Virat-Kohli,-Rohit-Sharma-were-demoted

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to make a few changes to the grading system in the central contracts, which are about to be announced anytime soon for the 2025-26 season.

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Notably, the BCCI is likely to remove the A+ Grade, which was introduced back in 2018. Currently, the Grade A+ cricketers earn INR 7 crore annually, while A Grade players earn INR 5 Crore, INR 3 Crore for B Grade and INR 1 Crore for C Grade.

However, in the new contracts for the 2025-26 season, the cricketers will only be graded in A, B and C brackets instead. Currently, only Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are placed in A+ Grade in the 2024-25 season.

However, only Bumrah is currently playing across formats despite missing a few games due to the workload management. On the other hand, Kohli and Rohit announced their retirements from Tests and T20Is. Moreover, Jadeja is only active in Tests and ODIs at the moment.

A BCCI official, while speaking exclusively to PTI, has stated that there would be no pay cut for someone like Bumrah, who is playing all formats despite missing a few games due to workload management. Also, India’s ODI and Test captain, Shubman Gill is expected to feature in A Grade.

However, with Kohli and Rohit playing only one format at the moment, they are expected to be bracketed in B Grade. While players in the A Grade are likely to be paid INR 7 crore, there could be a few changes in payment structure in B Grade.

"This is being done to simplify the contract structure. There are not many players who are part of all formats. Someone like Bumrah, who remains one of the few all format players, will continue to be placed in the highest category and there would be no pay cut," the BCCI official told PTI.

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