Explained: How Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma And Ravindra Jadeja Retained BCCI A+ Contract Despite Retiring From T20Is

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the annual retainership for the 2024-25 season. Several new faces were inducted into the central contract list while Virat Kohli , Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah retained their places in the Grade A+ category.

Grade A+ remains the highest category among the central contract, and it pays each player a lucrative 7 crore per season. Rohit led the Indian Team to the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy , respectively, while Virat has remained a pivotal part of the Indian team setup. Questions were raised about BCCI's decision to hand A+ contracts to Rohit, Virat, and Jadeja as the trio had already announced their retirement after India's T20 World Cup triumph.

Why BCCI Handed Grade A+ To Virat, Rohit and Jadeja Despite T20I Retirements?

The assessment part for the latest round of contracts was from 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024. This means players were judged by their performance during this designated period and were rewarded for their display on the pitch. However, the period of the new contract will be from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025.

Also Read: BCCI Central Contract List 2024-25: KKR Duo Among Five Players To Receive Maiden Call-ups, Check Details

A BCCI official confirmed the development to PTI, “The period of fresh central contract is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. But the assessment year is October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja played the T20 World Cup final in June, 2024 and hence at that time, they were all-format regulars. Going by that technicality, they are supposed to be in A+ category."

Similarly, both Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav used to be two-format players during the assessment period and thus they received Grade A and Grade B category contracts, respectively.

Also Read: BCCI Announces Annual Central Contracts For 2025, IPL Winning Skipper Retains His Spot In Much-Awaited List

Five Fresh Faces Receive Maiden BCCI Central Contract

Contrary to other reports, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan also returned to the BCCI fold after missing out last time. Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep were new entrants to Group C. Shardul Thakur, KS Bharat, Avesh Khan and Jitesh Sharma aren't part of the BCCI central contract.