BCCI Central Contracts: Why will Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma not earn ₹7 crore retainer fees now?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) downgraded Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the central contracts retainer that they announced February 9 (Monday). Both the veterans, part of the A+ category in the last retainer announced in 2025, have been moved to Category B. This means they will not receive ₹7 crore from the BCCI this year.

In fact, the A+ category has been completely done away with this year and the top category now is A. Only three players—Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja—feature in the A category.

Who are part of Grade B alongside Rohit and Virat?

In Grade B, apart from Rohit and Virat, there are 11 players including Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, and KL Rahul. While there is no clarity so far as to why certain players are in one group and others in another, one can infer that since Gill and Bumrah are all-format players, they have made it to Grade A. While Jadeja is a two-format player, the fact that he still plays Tests unlike Virat and Rohit is likely why he has been kept in Grade A.

Which category players get how much money?

Although the BCCI have not revealed publicly about the money that players will recieve under the revised contracts, the people in the Grade A+ category previously received ₹7 crore while those in A, B, and C received ₹5, ₹3, and ₹1 crore respectively. For the 2025-26 session, the BCCI have only announced three categories: A, B, and C.

Thus, correlating it with the figures from last year, Kohli and Rohit will get ₹3 crore as BCCI retainer fees.

The Omission Angle: Who Missed Out?

The 2025-26 list is as notable for who is missing as for who is included. The most prominent omission is Mohammed Shami, whose continued battle with fitness and long-term injury layoffs has likely led to his exclusion from the retainer list.

Furthermore, Ishan Kishan remains absent from the central contracts for the second consecutive year, signaling that the board is sticking to its strict stance on domestic cricket participation. Sarfaraz Khan, despite a promising start to his Test career, also finds himself off the list, potentially due to the board’s current focus on prioritizing all-format younger talents or those currently cemented in the white-ball setups.

Table-BCCI Men’s Central Contracts 2025-26 Full List