The BCCI has removed the A+ category, featuring Bumrah among four cricketers in it.
Last month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made notable amendments to their Annual Player Retainership list for 2025-26 season, including the removal of A+ category.
The current central contracts are divided into three categories – Grade A, Grade B and Grade C. Batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who remain active only in the ODI format, were demoted to Grade B.
Besides Kohli and Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were part of the erstwhile A+ category. Currently, Shubman Gill, Bumrah, and Jadeja feature in Grade A.
Now, a report published in TOI claims that the BCCI might revisit the categorisation, as they feel Bumrah needs to be fairly compensated. The Indian pace spearhead has fallen to the A category, and there is a gap of INR 2 crore in the final payment structure.
While the BCCI is yet to disclose the revised payment structure officially, under the previous structure, A+ players earned ₹7 crore annually, while Grade A, B and C players received ₹5 crore, ₹3 crore and ₹1 crore respectively.
“The board is trying to figure out how Bumrah can be compensated. It is understandable that it will be unfair to slash his fees from ₹7 crore to ₹5 crore. There are some other players also who seem to have moved down a grade despite being performers. There could be a revision in the valuation of the contracts,” the publication quoted a BCCI source as saying.
The revised contract has also affected T20I vice-captain Axar Patel, who has placed in Grade C despite being a key figure in India’s white-ball setup. It remains to be seen if he is at least upgraded to Grade B, if not an A.
KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, and Rishabh Pant, have also been downgraded to the B category from A despite the players putting in impressive shifts in at least two of the formats.
Rishabh Pant has been offered a Grade B contract despite being a regular in Test team. He was appointed the Test team's vice-captain in 2025.
Shreyas Iyer, the ODI team's deputy, has also been placed in Grade B, alongside KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya among others.
A major reshuffle of existing categories is likely if the revision is approved, which will ensure fair compensation to consistent performers.
(With TOI Inputs)