‘Ro-Ko’ will be demoted? Major changes possible in BCCI central contract, know the whole matter amidst speculations of salary cut

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may soon make a major change in its Central Contract System. This change can directly impact Team India’s biggest star players—Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. There are reports that BCCI is considering eliminating the A+ category from its central contract, which could cause a big blow to the ‘Ro-Ko’ duo.

According to sources and media reports, in case of proposed changes, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma can be kept in B category. If this happens, it will be considered a big demotion for both the senior players. At present, Rohit and Virat are part of the A+ category, under which they get Rs 7 crore annually. Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are also included in the same grade. On the other hand, B category players are given a salary of Rs 3 crore annually. In such a situation, if this change is implemented, then the annual earnings of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli may be reduced by about Rs 4 crore.

The biggest reason behind this possible decision is believed to be that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are now playing only one format for Team India – ODI cricket. Both of them first retired from T20 International together after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 and then last year, after playing the Border Gavaskar Trophy, they retired from Test cricket. In the current central contract system of BCCI, players who are regularly available in two or all three formats are generally kept in the higher category. In such a situation, the board may consider changing his grade due to playing only one format.

At the same time, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah are still part of Team India in two or more formats. For this reason, it is believed that even if a change in his grade from A+ to A is possible, the chances of him being included in B grade are very less.

However, whether Rohit and Virat will go to B category central contract or not – it has not been made clear yet i.e. at present no official announcement has been made on this and the final approval of BCCI is yet to be given.

At present, how much salary does each person get in which grade? (List released from April-2025)

A+ Grade (Rs 7 Crore) It includes Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.
A Grade (Rs 5 crore) I have Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant.
B Grade (Rs 3 crore) It includes Suryakumar Yadav, Akshar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer.
C Grade (Rs 1 crore) It includes young and emerging players like Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Verma, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Abhishek Sharma and many other names (total 19).

Cricket experts believe that if BCCI abolishes the A+ grade, then this decision will not be limited to Rohit-Virat only, but will also redefine the selection and format priority of players in future. Now all eyes are on the official announcement of the board, which will decide whether the ‘Ro-Ko’ duo will really face a big blow on the salary and grade front or not.