Why is the BCCI doing away with the A-plus category? Saikia explains
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to streamline its Annual Central Contracts system and suspend the A-plus category for now, a move secretary Devajit Saikia said was prompted by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepping away from Tests and T20Is to play only ODIs.
“The plan will go ahead very soon. We are removing one category because the players who were eligible for the A-plus category are now playing just one of the three formats. The criteria we have set to qualify a player for A-plus are not being fulfilled,” Saikia told Sportstar.
As per the existing policy, a cricketer in the A-plus category is paid Rs. 7 crore annually, while those in Category A receive Rs. 5 crore, Rs. 3 crore in Category B, and Rs. 1 crore in Category C. In the yet-to-be-announced retainers for 2025–26, players will be bracketed into only Categories A, B, and C.
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Only four players — Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja — were in the A-plus category last season, and Bumrah is now the only all-format player among them. Kohli and Rohit play only ODIs, while Jadeja remains part of the Test and ODI set-up, having retired from T20Is.
“Some of the players who were in that A-plus bracket have decided not to play in all three formats. Therefore, there are not enough players remaining to qualify and fulfil the eligibility criteria,” Saikia said.
“A one-format player will not be eligible for A-plus, so that’s why we had to take a call. There is no heartburn.”
However, it is understood that there will be no pay cut for Bumrah, who remains the leader of the pace attack despite missing games at times due to workload management.
Published on Jan 24, 2026
