India, March 15, 2024: Former India pacer Praveen Kumar has criticized the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), demanding equal rules for all players. The BCCI, while announcing the central contracts in February, stated that fit players not on national duty should be available for their respective domestic teams.
Speculations arose that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were removed from the BCCI’s player retention list due to their unavailability for their domestic teams, despite not being on India duty. Iyer did participate in the Ranji Trophy semi-final and final matches for Mumbai, but only after his removal from the BCCI contract list. Conversely, Kishan did not appear in any games for Jharkhand in the tournament.
Hardik Pandya, a premium all-rounder, also faced criticism. Despite being retained in the ‘A’ category of the central contracts, many questioned his availability in domestic cricket when not on national duty.
Praveen Kumar voiced his concerns on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel, saying, “Has Hardik Pandya descended from the moon? He has to play too. Why are there different rules for him? The BCCI should threaten him.”
Pandya has been out of the international circuit since he was ruled out of the Cricket World Cup 2023 due to an ankle injury. He recently recovered and participated in the DY Patil T20 Cup in the lead-up to the Indian Premier League 2024.
Kumar further stated, “Why would you play just the domestic T20 tournament? Play all three formats. Or have you played 60-70 Test matches that you will just play T20. The country needs you. If you don’t want to play Test cricket, give it in writing.”
He added that Pandya might have been informed that he would not be picked for Tests, although he did not have clear information on this.
Pandya is set to lead Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024, replacing Rohit Sharma. Last year, he moved back from Gujarat Titans (GT) to his former franchise as part of a trade between both franchises. During his two years with GT, Pandya led their campaign in the cash-rich league with aplomb, even leading the team to victory in GT’s debut season in 2022.
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