MS Dhoni to miss out on top BCCI contract?

File photo of MS Dhoni (PTI)

New Delhi: India's former World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is likely to miss out on the top BCCI contract as the Indian cricket administration plans to roll out reworked slabs divided into four categories as opposed to the three previously, media reports suggest. 

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) has already given its nod to increase in the salary of Indian cricketers after captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri led the proposal. Now, according to media reports, the CoA has worked out a procedure that will see players being graded into four categories: A+, A, B, and C. This will ensure the pay-hike players had asked for. 

The new category (A+) is likely to include players who are playing all three formats of the game, which will mean that Dhoni, who quit Test cricket in 2014, will not get a top-grade contract.

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 Indian cricketers' contracts received monetary hike last year as well, with the earnings of Group A players swelling from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore. However, the players were still not happy with it and sought further improvement in the payment structure across grades.