Why will Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are not in category A of BCCI Central contract?
The board announced the retainers for the 2025-26 season, and only three players have been selected in the top category. Rohit and Virat are not among them.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has downgraded Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the central contracts announced on February 9 (Monday). Both players, who were in the A+ category in 2025, have now been moved to Category B. This means they will not get ₹7 crore from the BCCI this year.
This year, the A+ category has been removed, and the top category is now A. Only three players—Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja—are in Category A.
In Category B, along with Rohit and Virat, there are 11 other players, including Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, and KL Rahul. There is no clear reason yet why some players are in one group and others in another. But we can think that since Gill and Bumrah play all formats, they are in Category A. Jadeja plays two formats, but he still plays Tests, unlike Virat and Rohit, so he is also in Category A.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma Downgraded
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma now play only one format. They will not get the Grade A contract. Both quit T20I cricket after winning the 2024 World Cup and gave up Test cricket in May 2025. Their last Test was in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The BCCI has removed the A+ category this year. The top category now is Grade A. Only Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja are in Grade A. Players in Grade B, like Rohit and Virat, will get less money.
Central Contracts 2025-26: Categories and Money
The BCCI has three categories this year: A, B, and C. Earlier, A+ players got ₹7 crore, A got ₹5 crore, B got ₹3 crore, and C got ₹1 crore.
Some players missed out this year. Mohammed Shami is not on the list due to fitness and injuries. Ishan Kishan is absent for the second year. Sarfaraz Khan is also missing, likely because the board focuses on younger all-format or white-ball players.
List of BCCI Men’s Central Contracts 2025-26
| Player Name | Category | Price (Annual Fee) |
|---|---|---|
| Jasprit Bumrah | Grade A | ₹5 Crore |
| Shubman Gill | Grade A | ₹5 Crore |
| Ravindra Jadeja | Grade A | ₹5 Crore |
| Rohit Sharma | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Virat Kohli | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| KL Rahul | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Rishabh Pant | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Hardik Pandya | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Mohammed Siraj | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Suryakumar Yadav | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Shreyas Iyer | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Washington Sundar | Grade B | ₹3 Crore |
| Axar Patel | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Rinku Singh | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Tilak Varma | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Sanju Samson | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Arshdeep Singh | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Shivam Dube | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Ravi Bishnoi | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Dhruv Jurel | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Prasidh Krishna | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Akash Deep | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Harshit Rana | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Varun Chakravarthy | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Abhishek Sharma | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
| Sai Sudharsan | Grade C | ₹1 Crore |
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Avijit Das
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