New Delhi: The Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) last month removed the A+ category from its players’ retainership system, stating that there were not enough candidates to qualify for the gradation. However, TOI understands that the board may be forced to review the valuation structure of the current tier of contracts to ensure that consistently performing players do not lose out on the money they received till last year. Topping the list are India’s premier fast bowlers. Jaspreet Bumrahwhich has consistently secured Grade A+ contracts since its inception for the 2018-19 season. It is learned that the board has not officially announced the value of the contracts this season. As per the previous system, grade A+ players got Rs 7 crore, while grade A, B and C players got Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively. BCCI did not mention the amount for each category while announcing the retainership this year. It is learned that the players are also yet to be officially informed of the value of their contracts.
The grade A+ was reserved for players who had placed in all three formats and achieved a top 10 world ranking in one of the formats. Since Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli Retired from two formats with Ravindra Jadeja Calling it a T20I shunt, the board was left with only Bumrah. Flashpoint has come out of this with the current contract system as Bumrah, despite retaining command across all three formats, was placed in Grade A by default this year. Currently, only Test and ODI captains Shibman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are in Grade A. “The board is trying to figure out how Bumrah can be compensated. It is understandable that reducing his fee from Rs 7 crore to Rs 5 crore would be unfair. There are a few other players who have gone down a grade despite being performers. The valuation of the contracts may be revised,” a BCCI source told TOI. Another name being discussed is that of India’s T20I vice-captain Axar Patel, who has been an integral part of the T20I and ODI setup in the 2024-25 season. Axar has been awarded the Grade C contract, which was worth Rs 1 crore till last year. India have enjoyed one of their most successful years in white-ball cricket in the 2024-25 season, with deals in place. There has been a decline in Test cricket at home and in Australia, with the high of a five-Test series tie in England. TOI has accessed the official criteria that were formulated when Grade A+ was introduced in 2018-19. According to the document, for a Grade A contract, a player must fulfill one of the following four criteria: any two formats, automatic selection in the team, ranked in the top 15 in the world, automatic selection in the Test team with 40 or more matches. A Grade B contract requires a player to meet one of the following criteria: any two formats, automatic selection in the team, ranked in the top 20 in the world, automatic selection in the Test team with 60 or more matches. Interestingly, Axar was the world number 11 all-rounder in T20Is in 2025 and was also instrumental in India’s victory, making him two of the four to qualify for Grade A or Grade B contracts. Even if the BCCI changes the criteria in the last three years, at least a Grade B contract looks viable. It will be interesting to see if the board has revised the criteria for this year as well. Apart from Bumrah and Aksar, there are other such players. KL RahulMohammad Siraj, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant who has been pushed from Grade A to Grade B. It should be noted that Rahul has been consistently performing in Tests and ODIs, while Siraj and Pant had an exceptional Test tour of England. Pandya has also been a core member of India’s ODI and T20 teams. The BCCI has, historically, considered player injury layoffs and ensured that players are not penalized for missing cricket due to injury.
