Over the past few years, Axar Patel has become one of the most dependable players for India in any format. His leadership capabilities are becoming increasingly obvious. Earlier in 2025, he was named vice-captain of the T20I squad and soon after was given the captaincy of the Delhi Capitals. All these developments speak of his high esteem in Indian cricket at present. But on Monday, when the BCCI published the central contracts for 2024-25, Axar's name ended up only in Grade B. He was put with Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shreyas Iyer. Within this grade, the only permutation compared to last year was Rishabh Pant moving up to Grade A. Now there are certain queries raised. Most of these players hardly play throughout all formats. Suryakumar is seen almost entirely in T20Is, where he also captains. Kuldeep rarely plays a Test match. Yashasvi is yet to begin his journey in ODIs. Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, was elevated to the status of promotion but predominantly plays Test matches and was even dropped from the Champions Trophy squad. His last ODI came in August 2024. In T20Is, Pant's latest match was in July 2024, while Axar remains a dependable white-ball cricketer. In 2025, he played eight ODIs, scoring 215 runs at more than 35 with the ball, taking eight wickets with an impressive economy of 4.47. In T20Is, his batting was hardly put to use but he did perform well with the ball, having taken six wickets in five games at an economy of 7.07. In Tests, Axar, who last appeared in February 2024, has registered 646 runs in 14 matches at an average of over 35, along with 55 wickets. So, is it justifiable not to include him in Grade A? after all, his stats speak for themselves. Twitter Reaction: 2 clutch Players who won us CT are in Grade B #ShreyasIyer and #AxarPatel Deserved better 💔BCCI ki mkc pic.twitter.com/8KCbIa3Z1z — Aryan. (@mishraa2505) April 21, 2025 I can’t believe Axar Patel is in B Grade category?? He should’ve been in A if not in A+. Axar performs and plays all three formats. He is one of 5 current players who plays all three formats regularly. Bumrah Axar Shami Siraj Pant — samy (@SamyCric) April 21, 2025 Axar Patel being all format all rounder player is Grade B Daylight robbery for DC Skipper !! — Virat (@virat_stark) April 21, 2025 Axar Patel deserve place for A+ grade . He's contribution Last two winning ICC event's Unimaginable with bat& Bowl He's clutch God This MDC @BCCI Deserve a Another 10 or 15 years trophyless Only healing My heart's pain 😡 https://t.co/xkvVTcnqZY pic.twitter.com/4CgPX5rBw3 — ジャスティン (@Justin_offcl) April 21, 2025 Also Read | 'He Looks Something Special': Sanju Samson on 13YO Suryavanshi BCCI Central Contracts 2024-25, Full List: Grade Player A+ Virat Kohli Ravindra Jadeja Rohit Sharma Jasprit Bumrah Grade A Rishabh Pant Mohammed Shami Mohammed Siraj KL Rahul Shubman Gill Hardik Pandya Grade B Suryakumar Yadav Kuldeep Yadav Axar Patel Shreyas Iyer Yashasvi Jaiswal Grade C Rinku Singh Tilak Varma Ruturaj Gaikwad Shivam Dube Ravi Bishnoi Washington Sundar Mukesh Kumar Sanju Samson Arshdeep Singh Prasidh Krishna Rajat Patidar Dhruv Jurel Sarfaraz Khan Nitish Kumar Reddy Ishan Kishan Abhishek Sharma Akash Deep Varun Chakravarthy Harshit Rana