Explained: Why Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja have Grade A+ BCCI central contract despite retiring from T20Is in 2024

Ishika Dadhwal

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Explained: Why Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja have Grade A+ BCCI central contract despite retiring from T20Is in 2024 image

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja may have stepped away from T20Is after India’s World Cup win in 2024, but they’re still sitting at the top of the BCCI’s central contracts.

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The Indian trio retained their Grade A+ contracts (worth ₹7 crore annually) in the 2024-25 central contract list announced by the board. That sparked confusion among fans, given the retirements and reduced format involvement.

But the catch lies in the timeline.

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While the new contracts kicked in from Oct. 1, 2024, the assessment period that decided the players’ grades was from Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024; a window in which all three were active across all formats, including playing key roles in India’s T20 World Cup triumph.

Why Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja still have BCCI's Grade A+ contracts?

A senior BCCI official confirmed that the contract decisions were based solely on performances and status during the assessment cycle that ended in September 2024.

Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja were all-format regulars during that time and were part of India’s title-winning XI in June.

“The period of fresh central contract is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. But the assessment year is October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja played the T20 World Cup final in June, 2024 and hence at that time, they were all-format regulars. Going by that technicality, they are supposed to be in A+ category,” the official told PTI.

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That same logic applied to Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav's deals, who earned Grade A and Grade B contracts, respectively, based on their dual-format involvement. The central contracts, effective through Sept. 2025, reflect past contributions, not future commitments.

So while the trio won’t feature in T20Is going forward, their impact during the assessment window keeps them in the top bracket for now.

Ishika Dadhwal

Ishika Dadhwal is a writer and editor with over four years of experience covering the NFL, NBA, WNBA, Cricket and Soccer. She’s currently an editor at The Sporting News and previously worked in an editorial capacity at Reach PLC, with additional stints at Sportskeeda and EssentiallySports. Her bylines have appeared in The Mirror and Pro Football Network. A passionate Patrick Mahomes fan, Ishika brings the same love for bold plays and sharp execution to her editorial work. Outside the newsroom, she loves dancing, painting, and turning everyday moments into little vlogs.