Published: May 14, 2025, 04:06 PM (IST)
Edited: May 14, 2025, 04:06 PM (IST)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed on Wednesday (14th May) that India’s star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are going to stay in the Grade A category despite both have retired from the T20I and Test format.
The BCCI had announced the annual retained players 2024-25 on April- where Rohit and Kohli were put in the Grade A category along with premium pacer Jasprit Bumrah and star spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
“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.
The England tour beginning next month is going to start India’s ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign. However, ahead of the tour, Virat Kohli shocked the entire cricket community by announcing his retirement from the longest format of the game.
There was once a time when Virat Kohli used to perform magnificently with the bat. Kohli used to be known as the ‘Real King’ in Test format. He played a total of 84 matches and scored 7202 runs during this time. He has played at an average of 54.97 and also scored 27 centuries. Even though Virat Kohli was once the king of the red-ball format, his performance declined since 2020. He played 39 Test matches since 2020, and his average fell down to 30.72. He also only scored three centuries.
Throughout his career, Virat Kohli played 123 Test matches for India, and scored 9230 runs. His average is of 46.83, and his performance has seen a steep fall in the past few years. Kohli has managed to score only 1990 runs in 37 matches that he player in the last 5 years.
