BCCI Blames Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli For Axing A+ Central Contracts; Jasprit Bumrah’s situation explained

Indian cricket is about to witness a major shake-up as the BCCI is all set to overhaul its central contracting system ahead of the 2025-2026 season. One of the biggest changes on the table is the removal of the elite A-plus category from the central contracts following the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s Test and T20I.

A+ category no longer? BCCI will renew the central contracts for 2025-2026

Since the A-plus category was mainly created for players who regularly represent India in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, the BCCI feels that the current system no longer suits the current situation of the national team, so they decided to remove that plaque.

With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma no longer playing all three formats, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia revealed that the board was of the view that there are not many multi-format players in the current setup and hence they decided to remove that elite A-plus category from the central contracts.

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Devajit Saikia was quoted by Sportstar as saying, “The plan will start very soon. We are removing one category as the players who were eligible for the A-plus category are now playing only one of the three formats. The criteria we have set to qualify a player for A-plus are not being met.”

Last season’s top earners

Earlier, players in the A-plus category earned ₹7 crore per year. Category A players received ₹5 crore, Category B players received ₹3 crore and Category C players received ₹1 crore annually.

Last season, only four Indian players were part of the A-plus group, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.

Of these four, Bumrah is now the only player still active in all three formats. Kohli and Rohit are now focusing only on ODIs, while Jadeja has already retired from T20I cricket, but the all-rounder continues to play Tests and ODIs.

There is no heartburn: Devajit Saikia on removing A-plus category from central contracts

Devajit Saikia believes that there are not enough players who meet the strict A-plus criteria. As a result, single-format specialists will no longer be eligible for the top contract slab under the revised system.

However, the BCCI has not yet announced the annual contracts for the next season. But it has been confirmed that the Indian players will now only be placed in categories A, B and C in the upcoming contracts for the 2025-2026 season, which will be announced soon.

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Saikia further added, “Some players who were in that A-plus bracket have decided not to play in all three formats. Therefore, there are not enough players left to qualify and meet the eligibility criteria. A single-format player is not eligible for A-plus, so that’s why we had to take a call. There is no heartburn.”

No pay cut for Jasprit Bumrah

Despite the removal of the premium category, it is said that there will be no pay cut for Bumrah, who plays all three formats for the Indian team. Although he is carefully managed due to the workload and occasional breaks, he is expected to receive a higher salary.