Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that Ravindra Jadeja’s name should be there in the BCCI’s A+ category of annual contracts.
In BCCI’s central contract list for 2021-22, category A+ remained unchanged as skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah retained their place.
Grade A saw many changes as only five players in Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, R Ashwin, and Mohammad Shami found themselves on the list. While the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma were demoted. Notably, the previous cycle had 10 players in the A category.
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However, after the governing body revealed their central contracts for 2021-22, many were of the opinion that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja should be in the A+ category. They suggested that him being a consistent performer in all three formats deserve a place in the top list.
Talking about the BCCI’s annual contract list, Aakash Chopra also said that Jadeja’s name should be in the A+ category as he has performed brilliantly.
“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,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra believes that the likes of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul are also in the contention for A+ category along with Ravindra Jadeja in the next 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,” he said.
Ravindra Jadeja recently stole the limelight for his heroics in the recently concluded first Test against Sri Lanka. The all-rounder scored unbeaten 175 runs and took 9 wickets in India’s innings and 222 runs victory.
