MS Dhoni to lose out on Virat Kohli-like contract under COA's new proposal?

Mumbai: A new contract system could soon be put forward for Team India players, as soon as before their upcoming 2018 Nidahas Trophy T20 tri-nation series in Sri Lanka in March. It is learnt that the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) discussed in a meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday where the final call was taken.

Currently, the contract for players of the national team is divided into three categories – A, B and C with cricketers receiving an annual cheque of Rs 2 crore, Rs 1 crore and Rs 50 lakh respectively. However, it is reported that under the new system, the salary cap is expected to be extended significantly.
"It's important to have the new contracts in place without which the IPL player insurance policy cannot be executed," a BCCI source was quoted as saying by India Today.

The new proposal will see the contracts divided into four grades - A+, A, B and C. Only those who perform well in all formats of the game will be eligible for the topmost category.

The likes of Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri and MS Dhoni were also present in the meeting representing Team India, and they had no reservations about the proposed four-tier system. Previously, the Vinod Rai-led CoA had floated a contract system where a player, who does not feature in all three formats will miss out on the elite A+ grade contract. Dhoni, however, held the right to the contract based on his reputation despite announcing his Test cricket retirement in 2014.

The form will also be a crucial factor, considering Test stars players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, who haven’t been slotted in the A+ category could still reap the benefits given their consistency in the ICC Test rankings despite not being a part of the limited-over setup.

Earlier, if any player earned a national cap, he would be automatically awarded a C grade contract. But the new system will see players receive the C grade contract upon only making their Test or ODI debut.

National chief selector MSK Prasad has been tasked with the responsibility of dividing players into the four categories based upon the set of guidelines.