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File photo of Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya© X (formerly Twitter)
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were excluded from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s list of centrally contracted players for not playing in domestic tournaments. While the move was welcomed by several pundits, it also started a conversation around all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was given a Grade A contract despite not taking part in the Ranji Trophy matches. According to a report in Indian Express, Hardik was awarded the contract after assuring the BCCI and the selectors of his participation in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 and the Vijay Hazare Trophy if he has no national team commitments.
Pandya injured his ankle during the 2023 Cricket World Cup and remained out of action until his return to competitive cricket in the DY Patil tournament.
“We have had discussions with Pandya, who has been told to play domestic white-ball tournaments when available. At present, as per the assessment of the BCCI medical team, he is not fit to play red-ball bowling.” Therefore, playing in the Ranji Trophy is out of the equation for Pandya. But he has to play other white-ball tournaments if there are no commitments to India. Otherwise, he will lose a contract,” the official told The Indian Express.
Earlier, former India pacer Irfan Pathan questioned the BCCI’s decision to deny central contracts to Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for ignoring a ruling to play the Ranji Trophy, saying players like Hardik Pandya have not been judged on the same benchmark. .
“If players like Hardik don’t want to play red-ball cricket, should he and others like him participate in domestic white-ball cricket when they are not on national duty?” questioned the BCCI’s decision, in his post on X.
“If this is not applied to everyone, Indian cricket will not achieve the desired results!” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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