Is BCCI planning to deduct Rs 2 Crore each from Virat and Rohit’s salaries?
There is a buzz already floating in the country’s cricket fraternity that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is mulling over deduction of Rs 2 crore each from the annual salaries of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma! The central contracts for players across 4 categories annually. These contracts are the official retainers that bind the nation’s elite cricketers to the national team. The nature of the contract and the remuneration that comes with it, however, depend upon the contribution of the player in the three formats of the game. The BCCI last awarded the central contracts to its players in April 2025, but the news of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma facing a pay cut in the next cycle has already started buzzing. The central contracts are a carefully calibrated mechanism designed to reward performance, incentives for participation, especially in the Test format, while also maintaining the highest standards of professionalism within the squad. The BCCI’s contract system is divided into four distinct grades — A+, A, B, and C — each carrying a fixed annual salary, known as the retainership. This amount is paid to the player regardless of how many matches they play throughout the year, standing separate from their match-fee earnings. The allocation of grades, however, is an annual exercise undertaken by the BCCI, working in close consultation with the selection committee, head coach and the team captain. Here’s how the grades are decided: Placed in the A+ category at present, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma may be demoted to ‘A’ category as they are no longer active players in the Test and T-20I format. Rabindra Jadeja retired from T20Is too, might remain in the A+ category as he is still an active member of India’s Test team. If Kohli and Rohit do get dropped to the A category, they would each earn Rs 2 crore less in the ‘A contract’ (Rs 5 crore), in comparison to the ‘A+ contract’ (Rs 7 crore).
BCCI says Rohit and Virat were not forced to play domestic tournament!
The BCCI has revealed that it had never forced India’s two key batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, to take part in the forthcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. According to a website report, a BCCI official, who revealed on condition of anonymity when asked about the BCCI dictum that the national stars must participate in the domestic cricket tournaments, stated, “BCCI never forced them to play in Vijay Hazare Trophy. It was purely their decision.” Interestingly, according to media reports across the country, BCCI selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar and chief coach Gautam Gambhir, both have been repeatedly asking players to return to domestic cricket whenever they have time off. It was also reported that due to the unofficial ‘dictum’ set by the chairman and the chief coach Kohli and Rohit played the Ranji Trophy after returning from the unsuccessful Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour Down Under. However, in the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa, both Rohit and Kohli have shown their consistency and proved indispensible once again in India’s batting line-up. Even coach Gambhir said that he is hoping that Kohli and Rohit continue doing the same in the format, though he refused to give any hint about the 2027 ODI World Cup make-up. “They (Rohit and Kohli) are world-class players and their experience is important in the dressing room. They have been doing it for a long time. Hopefully, they can continue doing the same, which is going to be important in the 50-over format,” Gambhir said at the post-match presser after India beat South Africa 2-1 in the ODI series.
