Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma may be demoted from A+ to Category B: Ajit Agarkar-led selectors propose BCCI overhaul

A major overhaul in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may push Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma down to Category B of the central contract system. Virat and Rohit are in the A+ category at the moment.

According to ANI sources, the BCCI may remove the top Grade A+ category. If this new structure is approved, senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are expected to be moved to a lower category, Grade B.

The proposal has been put forward by the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar, according to ANI. The committee has suggested keeping only three categories: A, B, and C, instead of the current four-tier system.

The final decision, including any changes in contract values, is likely to be taken at the next BCCI apex council meeting, according to ANI.

The BCCI’s last Apex Council meeting was held online on 22 December 2025. Scheduled talks included possible changes to central contracts for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the Economic Times reported.

Higher pay for domestic women cricketers was one of the major talking points. Discussions also included reviews of umpire fees, match officials and digital platforms across multiple departments nationwide.

At present, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma play only one format, ODIs. They have retired from Tests and T20Is.

Under the new model, this limited-format status may place them in Grade B. Currently, central contracts offer annual retainers of ₹7 crore for A+, ₹5 crore for A, ₹3 crore for B and ₹1 crore for C. In addition, the players receive match fees whenever they are part of the squad.

The 2024–25 central contract list, announced in April 2025, places India’s top senior players in different grades. Grade A+ includes Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah.

Grade A features Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant. Grade B has Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer.

Grade C includes a larger group of players. Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar are in this category. So are Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna and Ishan Kishan.

Kohli’s IPL career has been extremely profitable. Since joining the league in 2008, Kohli has earned about ₹212.44 crore from IPL contracts alone. His salary has steadily increased from ₹12 crore in the early seasons to ₹21 crore in 2025.

Rohit Sharma is not far behind. Like Virat, he is also one of the highest-paid cricketers in IPL history. So far, he has earned more than ₹194 crore from IPL alone. For the 2025 IPL season, the Mumbai Indians retained him for ₹16.3 crore.