What Will Happen to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s Grade A+ BCCI Contract After Test Retirement?

The BCCI clarified whether Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma would retain their Grade A+ annual contracts following their recent retirement from Tests.

What Will Happen to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s Grade A+ BCCI Contract After Test Retirement?

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would retain their BCCI A+ contracts, despite playing just one format. (via NDTV Sports)

Star Indian batting duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will retain their BCCI Grade A+ annual contract, despite having most recently announced their retirement from Test cricket. The board informed that the two Indian stalwarts would continue to enjoy the services of their existing contract.

Rohit Sharma was first to share his decision to retire from Tests, followed by Kohli, who also decided to call time on his red-ball career, marking an end to his memorable 14-year journey. However, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli restated their commitment towards the Indian ODI team, and noted that they would continue playing the 50-over format. They had previously announced their retirement from T20 Internationals, following India’s victorious 2024 ICC T20 World Cup campaign.

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah were named in the A+ category of the BCCI’s annual contract list, for the time period between October 2024 to September 2025. It is the highest-paying contract, awarded to top-performing players across three-formats, with an annual salary of INR 7 crores, and match fees of INR 15 lakhs for Tests, INR 6 lakhs for ODIs, INR 3 lakhs for T20Is.

The BCCI category A+ contract provides a host of additional benefits as well, including medical insurance and access to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and state-of-the-art training facilities. This has raised questions among a section of cricket fans and pundits whether Kohli and Rohit would continue to retain the BCCI A+ category contract, despite being active in just one format of the game for the Indian team.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia cleared the air by revealing that the status quo would be maintained and the duo would continue in the same grade, entitled to all facilities till the end of the contract in September 2025. Moreover, both Kohli and Rohit have already played enough matches in the eight-month period since the start of the contract, making it absolutely eligible for them to retain it.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s grade A+ contract will continue despite their retirement from the T20Is and Tests. They are still part of the Indian cricket team, and they will get all the facilities.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia to reporters (H/T Hindustan Times)

The two batters are comfortably ahead of the minimum threshold of matches as well, with Kohli featuring in eight Tests and seven ODIs since October, and Sharma in six Tests and eight ODIs. Meanwhile, their choice to retire from Test cricket creates a lasting gap in the Indian squad, especially considering the team’s struggles in the format over the past year, leading up to the anticipated England tour.

Rohit Sharma’s departure has also created a void in the leadership group, with the BCCI yet to name a new skipper for the red-ball team. Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah have emerged as contenders to lead the Indian Test team.  

Rohit Sharma breaks silence on his ODI future with the Indian team, following Test retirement 

After having retired from Tests and T20Is in the span of a year, Indian ODI captain Rohit Sharma finally opened up about his future with the team in the 50-over format. Sharma reiterated his desire to continue playing ODIs for India, while expressing his preparedness for the 2027 World Cup.

Rohit Sharma on ODI future
Rohit Sharma opened up about his ODI future, following Test retirement. (via Instagram)

Despite expectations of Sharma’s retiring after India’s 2025 Champions Trophy win, he instead chose to retire from Test cricket. In a conversation with journalist Vimal Kumar, the 38-year-old hinted at continuing his ODI career as long as he remains fit and makes meaningful contributions to the team. Sharma also pointed out his newly adopted aggressive batting style in the 50-over format.

Now, I want to play cricket in a different way…The day I feel like I’m not able to do what I want to do on the field, I’ll stop playing.

Rohit Sharma on his ODI future (H/T FirstPost)

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are poised to play for India at the 2027 ODI World Cup. However, former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar feels differently about their continuity. He doubts the two batsmen in their late 30s will play that long for India.