Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma may move to lower BCCI contract tier as A+ category faces removal

PTC Web Desk: Batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are likely to be shifted out of the top bracket of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) annual central contracts for the 2025–26 season. Sources indicate that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has recommended scrapping the A-plus category from the four-tier retainership structure.

According to a report in India Today, the proposal is still at a preliminary stage and will be discussed at the BCCI’s upcoming apex council meeting. A final decision on the contracts for the senior men’s team is yet to be taken.

At present, the BCCI’s central contract system includes four categories,  A , A, B and C, offering annual retainers of Rs 7 crore, Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively. Apart from financial benefits, contracted players receive year-round medical support and access to the Centre of Excellence for training and rehabilitation.

If the A-plus category is discontinued, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are expected to be placed in the B category. It was already clear that both senior batters would not remain in the top tier, as A-plus contracts are reserved for players active in at least two international formats.

Kohli and Rohit, along with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, were part of the A-plus list in the 2024–25 season, announced on April 21 last year. However, both Rohit and Kohli retired from Test cricket during the IPL 2025 season and are now active only in One-Day Internationals at the highest level.

The 2024–25 contracts were finalised based on performances and participation between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025.

While Kohli and Rohit’s downgrade appears likely, questions remain over Ravindra Jadeja’s position, as he continues to play Test cricket. Meanwhile, newly appointed Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is expected to be promoted to the top contract tier.

Under BCCI guidelines, players become eligible for central contracts if they have played at least three Tests, eight ODIs, or 10 T20Is in a season.

Current BCCI central contract list (2024–25)

A (Rs 7 crore):

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja

A (Rs 5 crore):

Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant

B (Rs 3 crore):

Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer

C (Rs 1 crore):

Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana