Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has raised concerns about the BCCI contract list, specifically questioning why India’s T20I vice-captain Axar Patel was placed in Category C. The BCCI has removed the A+ category, making Grade A the highest bracket.
Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja are in the highest category. In a surprising move, Axar Patel was moved from Grade B to C, despite being an active player in white-ball formats and part of the Test team. Aakash took to X to express his confusion over what more the all-rounder must do to receive appropriate recognition.
Chopra also criticized the decision to place KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav in lower categories, and he commented on Arshdeep Singh’s contract classification.
“What more does Axar Patel need to earn what he deserves? He plays in all formats and is a vice-captain in one format. Grade C?? If Jadeja and Gill are in Grade A, then why not Hardik, Rahul, and Kuldeep? I don’t think Arshdeep should be in Grade C either,” Chopra stated on X.
He further questioned the rationale of placing two-format players like Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja in Grade A.
“Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shubman Gill are in Grade A. However, Gill and Jadeja only play in two formats. What about Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul? Kuldeep Yadav competes in all formats. Axar Patel is the T20I vice-captain, plays ODIs, and is available for Tests, yet he is in Grade C. Arshdeep is also in Grade C, while Mohammed Siraj is in Grade B despite playing all formats,” he noted.
“This is not fair. Axar should be in Grade A,” he added.
Axar has been a key performer in the ODI and T20 formats, contributing effectively with both bat and ball.