What more must Axar Patel do? Ex-India batter blasts new BCCI contract list

Former India batter Aakash Chopra feels Axar Patel has been treated unfairly after he was given a Grade-C contract in the latest BCCI list released on Monday, February 9. Axar is currently India's T20I vice-captain.

Former India batter Aakash Chopra questioned the latest BCCI contracts list, asking why India's T20I vice-captain Axar Patel was placed in Category C. The BCCI has overhauled its central contracts framework, doing away with the A+ bracket altogether and elevating Grade A as the topmost category under the new system.

For the 2025–26 season, only three players have made the cut at that elite level — Jasprit Bumrah, ODI and Test skipper Shubman Gill, and experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Axar, who has been a regular in the white-ball setup and part of the Test squads, saw himself get demoted from Grade B to C, a move that didn't sit well with Copra. The former India batter took to X and asked what else does the all-rounder need to do to get what he actually deserves.

Chopra was also unhappy with the likes of Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav not being part of Grade-A and felt Arshdeep Singh also deserved not to be in Grade-C.

"Axar Patel ko aur kya karna hoga to get what he deserves? Three-format player. Vice-captain in one format. Grade-C?? Also, if Jadeja and Gill are in Grade-A, why aren’t Hardik, Rahul and Kuldeep?? Even Arshdeep shouldn’t be in Grade-C," wrote Chopra on X.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra questioned the logic behind two-format players like Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja being in Grade-A, while the likes of Hardik and Rahul didn't get the same treatment.

The former batter said that he felt that Axar deserved to be in Grade-A and was treated unfairly.