The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced its annual central contracts for the 2025–26 season on Monday, and the list delivered a major financial setback for senior stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Both former India captains have been placed in Grade B, a downgrade that comes with a 57% reduction in annual retainership pay. Until last season, Rohit and Kohli were part of the now-scrapped A+ category, which carried the highest remuneration.
How Much Money Did Rohit and Virat Lose?
- Earlier salary (A+ category): ₹7 crore per year
- Current salary (Grade B): ₹3 crore per year
- Annual loss: ₹4 crore each
The demotion marks one of the biggest pay cuts ever faced by Indian cricket’s biggest names under the central contract system.
Why Were Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Demoted?
The 2025–26 cycle (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026) is the first full season after both Rohit and Kohli retired from Test cricket. As a result, they are now active in only one international format, which automatically disqualifies them from the top contract bracket.
BCCI’s contract policy mandates that players in the highest category must be regular all-format performers. With no cricketer currently fulfilling that criterion, the board has removed the A+ category altogether.
BCCI’s Explanation
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia clarified last month that the decision was purely policy-driven and not targeted at individual players.
He explained that players who were earlier eligible for A+ contracts no longer meet the requirements as they have stepped away from one or more formats. According to Saikia, a one-format player cannot be placed in the elite category, which made the removal of A+ unavoidable.
Revised BCCI Central Contracts: 2025–26
- Grade A (₹5 crore):
Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah - Grade B (₹3 crore):
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar - Grade C (₹1 crore):
Axar Patel, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Arshdeep Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and others
Players can still be added to the list on a pro-rata basis if they meet the required match criteria during the season.
Despite the pay cut, Rohit and Kohli remain among India’s most valuable players commercially and on the field—but the latest contract list underlines BCCI’s clear shift towards a format-based, performance-driven structure.
Originally published on 24×7-news.com.
