The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to roll out fresh annual central contracts following the conclusion of Champions Trophy. Currently, four players occupy the space in grade A+ – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah. However, the trio of Ro-Ko and Jadeja are at the risk of being demoted. Why? Simply, because of the BCCI’s policy as to which player will be awarded the top contract.
Rohit, Jadeja and Kohli at risk of losing A+ central contract
As per the BCCI’s policy, players who perform in all three formats are preferred for the A+ contracts. The trio of Rohit-Kohli-Jadeja announced their retirement from T20Is following the World Cup win in 2024. Additionally, their performances in the Test season (vs BAN, NZ and AUS) was sub-par, putting them at risk of being demoted on the contracts grade. However, a Times of India report suggests that the trio could stand a chance of being retained in the top grade if their performances in the Champions Trophy are worthy of doing so.
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In the latter half of 2024, India captain Rohit only managed to score 164 runs in 16 Test innings. In ODIs he has scored 383 runs in 10 games during the course of 2024-25. In T20Is, he amassed 378 runs in the previous year from 11 matches, ending his career on a winning note by announcing his retirement after winning the T20 World Cup.
Kohli, on the other hand, fared slightly better than Sharma. In Tests, he managed to amass 440 runs in 17 innings in 2024/25. In ODIs, he did much better, managing 332 runs in 9 innings. His T20I record saw him amass 180 runs in 10 matches before he called it a day in his career in the shortest format.
Jadeja was phenomenal with the ball in Tests in 2024, picking 48 wickets. With the bat, he managed to score 527 runs. The southpaw did not play a single ODI in 2024 but has managed to take 10 wickets and 41 runs so far in 2025. In T20I, he only amassed 35 runs and 1 wicket in 2024 before announcing his retirement.
Given the performance of the trio in Champions Trophy, they have made a strong case for being retained in Grade A+ in the BCCI Central contracts. However, the result of the Champions Trophy final will determine what path the board will tread on.
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