Explained: Why is BCCI removing A+ Grade in new central contracts?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to move away from A+ Grade in the about to announce central contracts. Notably A+ Grade pays INR 7 Crore annually to cricketers, who play across three formats.

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In his exclusive conversation with Sportstar, the BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia has revealed that with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepping away from Tests and T20Is, the Indian cricket board is all set to move away from the A+ Grade.

“The plan will go ahead very soon. We are removing one category because the players who were eligible for the A-plus category are now playing just one of the three formats. The criteria we have set to qualify a player for A-plus are not being fulfilled,” Saikia told Sportstar.

In the existing policy, a cricketer in the A+ Grade is paid INR 7 crore annually, while those in A Grade receive INR 5 crore, INR 3 crore in Grade B, and INR 1 crore in Grade C. However, in the 2025-26 central contracts, players will be bracketed into only A, B & C Grades.

“Some of the players who were in that A-plus bracket have decided not to play in all three formats. Therefore, there are not enough players remaining to qualify and fulfil the eligibility criteria,” Saikia said.

“A one-format player will not be eligible for A-plus, so that’s why we had to take a call. There is no heartburn,” he noted.

It’s important to note that Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja were in the A+ Grace in the existing policy. While Kohli and Rohit are currently active in ODIs, Jadeja plays in Tests and ODIs.

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However, Bumrah is the lone all-format player, and he is expected to continue in the A Grade in the new policy despite missing out on a few games due to workload management.

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