X created a stir after BCCI included Hardik Pandya in India’s pool of players to sign while excluding Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer Meme wave.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) includes Hardik Pandya in squad for India, while ruling out Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer ), a wave of memes swept over X.
BCCI Central Contract List Explained…
Accurate 👍#BCCI #ShreyasIyer #HardikPandya #伊山·kishanpic.twitter.com/M6q40mwTeK
— Anwar Khan (@anvarkhan63) February 28, 2024
Hardik Pandya comes out of Ishan kishan room pic.twitter.com/QLVTI3mv6F
— Abhishek (@be_mewadi) February 29, 2024
Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan at Anant Ambani’s wedding request bcci to treat it as domestic match within one year of central contract one pic.twitter.com/XDq4EFDpgu
— Saurabh Desai (@sau_desai) March 1, 2024
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya slammed on social media The former announced List of cricketers who have been awarded central contracts for the 2023-24 season.
Amid speculation over the fate of wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and injury-prone top orderer Shreyas Iyer, BCCI confirmed that the duo have not been included in the squad in annual contracts with cricket bodies.
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have created a lot of buzz in recent weeks, mostly for the wrong reasons as the two players decided to go against the team management and the BCCI’s decision to play domestic cricket when they are not employed by the national team.
However, the two batsmen continued to ignore the instructions of head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma and missed a series of Ranji Trophy matches, which angered the former India fast bowler National Selection Committee headed by Ajit Agarkar.
Rohit Sharma, in particular, was very clear on the situation, stressing that young cricketers must understand the nature of domestic cricket and should follow the advice given to them by national selectors and think tanks.
He went on to warn them, stressing that only players who are willing to work hard will be selected to represent India in international matches. Players unwilling to do so will not be considered for selection.
Against this backdrop, BCCI has chosen not to offer contracts to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan.
“Please note that in this round of recommendations, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for annual contracts,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India wrote in a statement.
However, BCCI’s statement did not go down well with supporters of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan.
Their admirers criticized the board’s stance on Hardik Pandya, who no longer plays red-ball domestic cricket. Likewise, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are also missing from the four-day Ranji Trophy.
But unlike Hardik Pandya, who was included in the list of players under Central contract, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan missed out.
This led to fans describing Hardik Pandya as “selfish”.
Nonetheless, BCCI official and former India opener Aakash Chopra explained that Hardik Pandya’s case is related to Ishan Kishan and Shree Shreyas Iyer’s case is different.
“We have had discussions with Pandya and he has been told to play in the domestic white-ball tournament when he is available. At this stage, as per the assessment of the BCCI medical team, he is not fit to play in the red-ball tournament. Therefore, playing in the Ranji Trophy against It’s impossible for Pandya. But without India’s commitment, he has to play in other white-ball tournaments. If he doesn’t do that, he will lose a contract,” a BCCI official told an Indian media outlet.
“Hardik Pandya’s case is very simple. He doesn’t play red-ball cricket. That ambition or desire is not there anymore. He didn’t say that but the fact is that he can’t play any Test series at all. So if you Don’t audition for Tests at all, no one will ask you to play first class cricket. Why play four days when your body is not strong enough to bowl and have injury issues? Then why should he play (first class) What about cricket?” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“If he stops and goes to India when he is fit. If he is resting and doesn’t want to play for Syed Mushtaq Ali or Vijay Hazare Trophy for promotions or video shoots or other such work. Then you can say he is wrong. But at the moment He’s not. If he didn’t make a mistake, why would you punish him?” he elaborated.
Hardik Pandya had not featured for the Indian cricket team since last year’s ODI World Cup until he got injured during the prestigious tournament.
He recently returned to competitive cricket, playing in the DY Patil T20 tournament.
The all-rounder will continue to build momentum ahead of the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which he will lead former champions Mumbai Indians later this month.
Hardik Pandya played for Mumbai Indians for seven consecutive seasons starting in 2015 before parting ways to join Gujarat Titans in the 2022 season.
During his seven-year spell with Mumbai Indians, the Indian all-rounder remained a regular in the then Rohit Sharma-led side in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 A key part of winning the championship.
Hardik Pandya’s two-year tenure as leader of Gujarat Titans (GT) has been a huge success, with the Gujarat-born cricketer guiding the team to the IPL title in their debut season in 2022.
About the author
Pawan Atri is a writer at ClutchPoints.