Aakash Chopra wants the India star Ravindra Jadeja to be promoted to the A+ category in the BCCI central contracts list. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contracts list for the 2021-22 cycle saw a number of ups and downs for multiple players.
While the A+ category – the highest in BCCI’s central contracts list – remained unchanged with captain Rohit Sharma, former skipper Virat Kohli and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah retaining their places, Category A saw only five players for the 2021-22 cycle. In comparison, the 2021-22 cycle had 10 players in the A category.
Aakash Chopra Wants Ravindra Jadeja Promoted To Grade A+ In BCCI Central Contracts List
India’s Test specialists Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ishant Sharma, who lost their places in the side due to poor form last month, dropped to Category B alongside Hardik Pandya (C) and Shikhar Dhawan (C).
Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami are a part of Category A in the latest central contracts. However, former India opener Aakash Chopra believes that Ravindra Jadeja should have been promoted to the A+ category due to his consistent performances for the Indian team in the past.
“The category where there was no change is the A+ category, were Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah are there. But why not Ravindra Jadeja? I think Jadeja’s name should be there in that list. In the next central contract list, I believe Jadeja’s name will be there in that category because he has performed so brilliantly,” Aakash Chopra said.
Ravindra Jadeja had been a part of India’s T20I World Cup campaign and appeared in the Test series against New Zealand in November. However, an injury forced him out of the side for the away series against South Africa. The all-rounder made a splendid return to the international setup with the limited-overs home series against Sri Lanka, and enjoyed a stellar outing in the first Test against the same side (175*; 5/41 & 4/46).
Aakash Chopra Wants KL Rahul And Rishabh Pant In A+ Category
Along with Ravindra Jadeja, Aakash Chopra also wants KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the A+ category in the next contract list.
“Currently, Jadeja is in Grade A. In the next list, I think both Jadeja and KL Rahul will be in the A+ category. Rishabh Pant is going to be a massive contender. He is the vice-captain of the team. All of them should be pushed to A+ category,” said the former India batter.
Rishabh Pant has played some crucial knocks in recent times for the team. He has 1831 Test runs from 29 matches at 40.68. He has 715 ODI runs with an average of 32.50. He played some pretty decent knocks in the recent series against West Indies and also scored 96 runs in the first Test against Sri Lanka. KL Rahul has been also the pillar of the Indian batting unit.
KL Rahul was ruled out of both the series against West Indies (T20Is) and Sri Lanka ( T20Is and Tests) due to an injury. KL Rahul sustained an upper left hamstring strain during the 2nd ODI in the West Indies series. In February 2022, during the second ODI of India against the Windies, KL Rahul scored 49(48) and completed 6000 runs in International cricket across formats.