Reports: BCCI mull scrapping A+ Grade in Annual Central Contract; Kohli, Rohit may move to Grade B

If reports are to be believed, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are planning to do away with the A+ Grade while introducing a revised central contract system.

The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, has suggested changes to the current central contract structure. The committee has also recommended scrapping the A+ category completely. Players in the A+ grade earn INR 7 crore. The other categories are A, B, and C. At the next apex council meeting, more clarity is expected on whether

the BCCI will approve this model and what monetary changes it will bring about.

Also, as per BCCI sources, former India captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could move to Grade B if the changes take place. It is important to note that in the current setup, players in the A category earn INR 5 crore as yearly fees, while that of the B category is INR 3 crore. Players in the C category get INR 1 crore. Match fees are paid differently and are not a part of these amounts.

The 2024-25 list was announced in April last year. Kohli, Rohit, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah were named in the A+ category. In Grade A, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant, and current Indian Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill were placed.

T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav headlined Grade B, alongside Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The final Grade, C, consists of as many as 19 players. They are Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Kumar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Akash Deep, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Harshit Rana.

India's upcoming assignment is the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which begins on Wednesday, January 21. This will be followed by the much-anticipated T20 World Cup.