BCCI Central Contract 2025: The BCCI has made a major change to its central contract for the 2025–26 season. This time, the A+ category has been completely removed from the list, and Grade A has become the highest category. Only three players are listed in Grade A in this new list, which are Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja.
As soon as this list was released, discussions raged in the cricket world. Former Indian player Aakash Chopra was openly questioned about it. He was particularly unhappy with the decision to place Axar Patel in Grade C. Aakash Chopra believes that considering Axar Patel’s performance, it doesn’t seem right to place him so low.
Axar Patel plays all three formats for India and is also the vice-captain of the India T20I team and is always available whenever the Test team needs him. Despite this, his move directly from Grade B to C has surprised many. Chopra clearly stated that if Gill and Jadeja can be in Grade A, then why were other senior and consistent players overlooked?
BCCI Central Contract 2025: Major Player Out Of List
Axar Patel has played a crucial role for India in recent years. In ODI cricket, he scored 290 runs and took 11 wickets in 11 matches. He strengthens the team not only with the ball but also with his excellent batting skills.
Axar has been even more effective in the T20I format. He is often given the power play to bowl, where he takes big wickets. In 2025, he took 17 wickets in 19 T20 matches, averaging around 19 and having an economy rate of less than 7. These figures clearly show how reliable a player he is. He is in excellent form this year as well, and in the first match of the T20 World Cup 2026, he took 2 wickets for just 24 runs in 4 overs against the United States.
BCCI Central Contract 2025
Aakash Chopra raised questions not only about Axar Patel but also about Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh. Players like Hardik and Rahul have been match-winners for India in big matches. Kuldeep Yadav plays all three formats, yet he didn’t find a place in Grade A. Arshdeep Singh, meanwhile, is considered India’s most reliable T20 bowler, but he too is in Grade C.
Chopra clearly states that this system doesn’t seem fair in many areas. According to him, Axar Patel should have received at least Grade A. It remains to be seen whether the BCCI will address these questions, but it’s certain that this contract list will be a topic of much discussion in the future.
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