Star Indian duo Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are set to retain their grade A+ annual contract despite announcing retirement from Test cricket.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Devajit Saikia stated that the duo are still part of the Indian team set-up as they are active in the ODI format. Both Virat and Rohit announced their retirements from the red-ball format in a span of less than a week and won’t be available for the upcoming England tour.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma to retain grade A+ category contract
“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 of Grade A+,” Devajit Saikia told ANI.
Rohit announced his Test retirement last week through an Instagram story while Virat did similar to drop curtains on his 14-year illustrious career. The retirements came ahead of the England tour, which starts on June 20, as India starts its latest World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
They have been part of the BCCI’s top bracket of annual contract cycle for more than a decade. However, their recent retirement announcements had speculated that they would be dropped. However, that will no longer be the case and will continue to be part of the BCCI’s contractual pyramid.
Virat made 123 appearances in Test format, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties in 210 innings and the best score of 254*. He is India’s fourth-highest run-getter in the format, behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), Rahul Dravid (13,265 runs), and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122 runs).
Both Rohit and Virat will continue to feature in the ODI setup for India, having earlier announced retirement from T20Is as well.