Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will keep their Grade A+ contracts, even after announcing their retirements from Test cricket on May 12 and May 7. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed this, stating, “Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s Grade A+ contract will continue despite their retirement from T20Is and Tests. They’re still part of the Indian team and will enjoy all Grade A+ benefits.”
The BCCI announced player retainership for 2024-25 in April, placing Kohli and Rohit in the Grade A+ category alongside star bowler Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Ravindra Jadeja. Usually, players who play all formats are preferred for this category, but only Bumrah currently fits that bill among these four. Rohit, Kohli, and Jadeja stepped back from T20Is in June after winning the T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit retired from Test cricket on May 7, while Kohli shared his retirement from the five-day format on May 12 through an Instagram post.
Kohli had a 14-year Test career, playing 123 matches and scoring 9,230 runs with 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. He’s India’s most successful Test captain, with 40 wins in 68 matches, and holds the record for the most double centuries in Tests for India. He also became the first Indian captain to win a Test series in Australia in January 2019 and led India to a runner-up finish in the first World Test Championship.
Rohit debuted in Test cricket in November 2013 against the West Indies, scoring 177 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He played 67 matches over his 11-year career, amassing 4,301 runs with 12 centuries and 18 fifties. Rohit guided India to the WTC final in June 2023 against Australia and played his last Test match against them at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30, 2024.