Jasprit Bumrah Set for Pay Relief? BCCI Plans Compensation After ₹2 Crore Cut

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) might be reviewing its new central contracts following some major overhaul in the 2025-26 list of players. The Board had earlier announced the annual player contracts for men's and women's senior teams in February for October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026.

For the men's senior team, the BCCI has handed out contracts to 30 players but has now scraped off the Grade A+ category. Only Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have been placed in the top category, which is now Grade A.

As per the old contracts, Grade A players used to receive ₹5 crore annually, Grade B players received ₹3 crore and Grade C players received ₹1 crore. Former players who held the A+ category like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma received ₹7 crore. It is yet to be known whether the new system will also involve revision of pay scale.

With the deletion of the A+ category, some players would witness pay cut. Jasprit Bumrah, who still plays all formats, has been moved from A+ category to A category, thus the player is expected to witness a pay cut of ₹2 crore from his current earning every year.

Bumrah, Axar and Other Stars Under Review

Now, as per a report by The Times of India, the BCCI could intervene in this matter. The board might try to do something for Bumrah.

A BCCI source said:

“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 Rs 7 crore to Rs 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 report also indicated that the contract of Axar Patel might also be looked into. The bowler has been placed in Grade C category in spite of being a regular in the Indian team.

A few other top stars have also been downgraded. KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant have all been dropped from Grade A to Grade B category.

While, the downgrades of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja were expected since these are all players who have retired from some formats or the other, but for Bumrah who still plays all formats of cricket would find the move unjust as he remains one of India's top performers.

For now, the BCCI has made no formal statement, but a revision or modification in the contract system and pay scale could take place soon.