BCCI to Scrap A+ Category Due to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma?

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has reportedly suggested removing the A+ category from central contracts to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Currently, there are four categories in the BCCI central contracts list.

Amongst the changes, the possible demotion of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is creating a buzz. Both players have been in the top category ever since they have been playing the all the formats.

Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli be Removed from A+ Category?

If the proposed BCCI new central contract gets applied, then we might see the Rohit Kohli salary cut. Currently, the players who are in the A+ category are Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja. Kohli and Rohit have retired from the Test and T20I formats and are only remain available for the ODIs, due to which, they could be moved down to the lower category if A+ is scrapped.

If the A+ category gets removed, then only three categories will remain, which are A, B, and C. The players who are in the A category get INR 5 crore, the B category players get INR 3 crore, while the C category players get INR 1 crore.

Recently, Rohit and Kohli featured in the ODI series against New Zealand. While Kohli had a fantastic series with the bat, Rohit wasn't at his fluent best. Both the players, who are considered the best ODI batsmen in the world, will be next seen in action during the IPL 2026 season.

The BCCI central contract changes might also affect Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah's salaries. Bumrah plays all three formats but doesn't appear consistently to manage workload. On the other hand, Jadeja only plays Test and ODIs, which is why both of them might see a demotion in their central contracts.

How are BCCI's Current Central Contract Grades Structured?

The current BCCI central contract was announced back in April last year. The list includes some of the best cricketers in the world. Apart from the A+ category, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, and Rishabh Pant are in the A category. Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shreyas Iyer are in the Grade B of this list currently.

When the new BCCI central contract will be announced, fast bowler Mohammed Shami might get demoted, as he hasn't played a single match since the 2025 Champions Trophy final. The new contract list might see a lot of players getting demoted, while a few players might also see a promotion after their magnificent performances in recent times.