BCCI Central Contract 2026: The legendary Indian star duo, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, may lose their place in the BCCI’s central contract in the coming days. It will be decided at the annual AGM meeting on December 22nd whether both superstars will remain in the A+ grade or be demoted to some other grade. The duo have retired from T20I and Test cricket and are now only active in the ODI format; with that, there is the possibility of a change in their grade in recent times.
BCCI Central Contract 2026: Unchanged Grade Last Time
The previous central contract was for the period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, in which the BCCI kept Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the A+ grade despite their retirement from T20Is. Usually, the A+ grade is given only to players who play all three formats. Besides Kohli and Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were also included in this grade, but now the situation has changed.
Since Rohit and Virat no longer play T20I or Test cricket, their demotion in the new contract is considered almost certain. If they are moved from an A+ to an A grade, their annual salary will decrease from 7 crore to 5 crore. If they are moved to B grade due to playing only one format, they will receive only 3 crore annually. This means a loss of at least 2 crore rupees in their fees.
Shubman Gill Promotion
On the other hand, Shubman Gill is highly likely to be promoted. He plays in all three formats and is the captain of the Test and ODI teams. He is also appointed as the vice-captain of India in T20Is. Currently, he is in the A grade and receives 5 crore rupees annually. But upon reaching A+, his annual salary will increase to 7 crore. Jasprit Bumrah is also almost certain to retain his A+ grade. The following players are included in the BCCI’s current central contract:
A+ Grade (₹7 crore)
Players: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja
A Grade (₹5 crore)
Players: Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant
B Grade (₹3 crore)
Players: Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer
C Grade (₹1 crore)
Players: Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana
Also Read : Yashasvi Jaiswal Eyes T20 World Cup Spot, Says He’s Prepared To Captain India In The Future
