Kohli, Dhoni behind the idea of special A+ category contract for players: Vinod Rai

Last week, the BCCI announced the central contract for 26 players. Skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were included in the special Rs7 crores A+ category. On the other hand, MS Dhoni was included in the Rs. 5 crores A category.

Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai asserted that it was Kohli and Dhoni’s idea to introduce the special category. He also spoke about the special bond shared between both players. He further stated how cricketers played the foremost role in working of the administration.

The proposal of having a special category for players was put forward by Dhoni and Virat

The BCCI this time introduced a new category in the central contract. This list included players who played all formats of the game and excelled in it. Vinod Rai conceded that it was Dhoni and Kohli’s idea to have an A+ category for the players.

“This A+ category was proposed by the players themselves. We had a discussion about this category with Dhoni and Virat. They proposed that there should be category of world class excellence in which players who play all three formats of the game should be there,” Rai was quoted as saying by the Economic Times.

We have often witnessed the deep bond that Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni share with each other. Shedding light on the same, Rai remarked that both players had a lot of mutual respect for each other. He credited Dhoni for being a valuable asset in the team and passing on his experience to Kohli.

“Their camaraderie is exceptional with so much mutual respect. Virat respects Dhoni’s cricketing acumen and Dhoni respects what Virat is achieving as a player. Virat feels that there are no faster pair of gloves than MS Dhoni today. Also Dhoni’s cricketing mind honed over so many years is an asset for Virat. As far as how many years of cricket is left in him, time and his performance will tell,” he said.

Whether administrators or media, we all sustain because 11 players play on the ground

There was a lot of discontent among the BCCI office bearers. They weren’t pleased for not being consulted by the COA regarding the same. However, Vinod told that the discussion was done with the players and since there was no change, they decided to put it out.

“We discussed with players and we placed the proposal to the office-bearers. The package was there with them from September and there’s nothing new in it. Finance committee did not meet is a fact but package was known to them. So we decided to put it out as players have contracts and their insurances are in place before IPL,” he said.

The retired bureaucrat further indicated the importance of cricketers behind the running of any successful administration. He asserted that the cricketer’s benefit should never be compromised. He assured that there was continuous interaction with the players.

“Nobody knows the plight of the cricketers than the cricketers themselves. They are interacting with cricketers everyday. In fact it was the cricketers who gave us names of former players who are facing difficulty in getting two meals together. The only thing we should never compromise is cricketers’ benefit. Whether it is the administrators or the media, we all sustain because 11 people play on the ground,” he was quoted.

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