The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly scrambling to evaluate earnings of its top assets following a radical overhaul of the central contract system. The move to scrap the elite Grade A+ category has opened up a potential Rs 2 crore annual pay gap for pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, forcing the board to reconsider the entire fiscal structure of its retainership program.
According to a report by The Times of India (TOI), the BCCI abolished the A+ tier last month due to a lack of eligible multi-format candidates. However, this administrative streamlining should also ensure that India’s best-performing players do not take a massive pay cut due to a change in gradation.
Why should Bumrah get a Rs 2 crore paycut despite consistent performance?
Since 2018-19, Jasprit Bumrah has been a permanent fixture in the Grade A+ (₹7 crore) bracket. With the T20I retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah became the last candidate for the top tier.
Instead of maintaining a one-man category, the board dissolved the grade, moving Bumrah to Grade A. Under the previous valuation:
Grade A+: Rs 7 Crore
Grade A: Rs 5 Crore
Without a revision in the value of the contracts, Bumrah faces an effective Rs 2 crore loss, a move the board realises is unfair for a player who remains an automatic selection across all three formats.
“The board is trying to figure out how Bumrah can be compensated… There could be a revision in the valuation of the contracts,” a BCCI source told TOI.
The ‘valuation slide’ across grades
Bumrah is not the only player whose market value is at odds with their new grade. Several high-performers have been pushed down the ladder. Axar Patel, India’s T20I vice-captain and a consistent all-format performer in 2024-25, Patel has been placed in Grade C (previously valued at ₹1 crore). This represents a steep fall from his previous Grade B status.
High-impact players like Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul have all been slotted into Grade B. If the old ₹3 crore valuation remains, these core players would also see a significant drop from their previous ₹5 crore (Grade A) earnings.
BCCI has not disclosed official salary figures
The BCCI is currently withholding official salary figures because it is likely planning to lift the floor. To keep the talent happy, the board may be forced to revalue Grade A to Rs 7 crore (effectively making it the new A+), Grade B to Rs 5 crore and so on.
If the contract value is not increased the gap between the BCCI’s annual contract and his IPL deal (where Bumrah was recently retained for Rs 18 crore) will become so wide that the national contract loses its value as a financial incentive.