Reports: MS Dhoni to miss out on top grade BCCI contract

The demand for a better pay is not new in Indian cricket. Players have been asking for it for years and it has now got advocates in the likes of former India coach Anil Kumble and current head coach Ravi Shastri. As per reports by Hindustan Times, cricketers had previously complained that they don’t get as much share from BCCI’s revenue like their international counterparts.

However, after Shastri and Virat Kohli had proposed it in their recently held joint meeting with CoA and BCCI, the committee had finally given its nod to increase the salary. And according to the reports, the committee’s newly worked out a procedure will see players being graded into four categories: A+, A, B, and C. The CoA is expected to forward the proposal to the BCCI Finance Committee that will then give its feedback after deliberating upon the guidelines.

The new category (A+) is likely to include players who are playing all three formats of the game. This essentially means that Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who decided to retire from Test cricket back in 2014, is unlikely to be a part of the top-grade contract. Interestingly, players like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who have only played Tests of late, could be placed in the A + category on the basis of their ICC Rankings. Jadeja is currently world No. 3 while Ashwin is No. 4.

Earlier the players were divided into three grades- A,B and C.The CoA had earlier announced that Grade A players will pocket Rs 2 crore per annum as compared to the earlier Rs 1 crore, while Grade B and C players will get Rs 1 crore and Rs 50 lakh respectively. However, the players were still not happy with it and sought further improvements in the pay structures across the grades.