Why did BCCI hand 7-crore contracts to Rohit, Virat and Jadeja despite T20 retirement?

The BCCI on Monday, April 21 retained Indian cricket legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the Grade A+ category of the annual players’ central contract list. Both stalwarts have delivered outstanding performances earlier in the ongoing IPL 2025 for their respective franchises. Alongside, Rohit and Virat, the star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is also a part of the Grade A+ list of players in addition to ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

However, questions have been raised about the inclusion of Rohit, Kohli, and Jadeja in the A+ category, especially since they retired from T20 internationals in June 2024. Traditionally, the A+ category is reserved for players who are automatic selections across all three formats of the game and yet, the trio's inclusion has raised the question among public.

"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,” said a BCCI official as quoted by NDTV Sports.

Since the experienced trio fulfilled the criteria of playing in all three formats during the assessment period, they were retained in the most elite category.

The three will now be seen taking part in the tour of England for the five Tests, following the conclusion of the Indian Premier League 2025. Rohit is all set to don the captain's hat, but the decision isn't final yet, since his leadership in red-ball cricket has been under scrutiny owing to recent loss in series against New Zealand and Australia, respectively.

The BCCI offers annual player contracts across four categories: A+ (INR 7 crore), A (INR 5 crore), B (INR 3 crore), and C (INR 1 crore). Shreyas Iyer has been included in the B category, while wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has returned to category C. Both players were excluded from the central contract list last year for failing to participate in domestic cricket.

"Similarly, Ishan (2 World Cup matches) and Shreyas played 15 ODIs and a handful of Tests in the 2023-24 season and hence got their respective categories," said the official.

Rishabh Pant, who was downgraded to Grade B in last year's contract due to his absence from the game following a car accident, has been promoted back to Grade A, this year. Ravichandran Ashwin, on the other had made his way out naturally following his international retirement.

This time, Grade C includes 19 players, an increase from the 17 players in the same category last year.