Why Hardik Pandya was given Indian Cricket Board contract despite not playing Ranji Trophy 2024 and Test matches? Check here:

The Indian Cricket Board has announced its central contract list for the 2023–2024 edition. Notably, India’s star batters, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, didn’t get the contract after they refused to appear for the Ranji Trophy 2024 games. However, India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya placed himself on an A contract despite not being in the Test squad for Team India.

However, following the same, Indian Cricket Board sources revealed that Hardik Pandya is set to play the white ball tournaments if he is not part of Team India. In addition, the sources further say that at this moment, Hardik Pandya isn’t available for selection due to the injuries he sustained in the ODI World Cup 2023 clash against Bangladesh on October 19 at MCA in Pune. The board also accepted that if he is not spotted playing, his contract will also be terminated.

“We have had discussions with Pandya, who has been told to play domestic white-ball tournaments when he is available. At this stage, according to the assessment of the board’s medical team, he is not in a position to bowl in red-ball tournaments. So playing Ranji Trophy is out of the equation for Pandya. But he has to play other white-ball tournaments if there are no India commitments. If not, he will miss out on a contract,” an Indian Cricket Board official was quoted as saying.

Hardik Pandya doesn’t want to play red-ball cricket: Irfan Pathan

Meanwhile, in the same vein, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan takes a cheeky dig at Hardik Pandya after he gets the chance to be on the contract list with an A grade. The well-renowned cricket commentator backs Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan to play the domestic games.

“They are talented cricketers, both Shreyas and Ishan. Hoping they bounce back and come back stronger. If players like Hardik don’t want to play red-ball cricket, should he and others like him participate in white-ball domestic cricket when they aren’t on national duty? If this doesn’t apply to all, then Indian cricket won’t achieve the desired results!”

Check out Irfan Pathan’s tweet on X: 

They are talented cricketers, both Shreyas and Ishan. Hoping they bounce back and come back stronger. If players like Hardik don’t want to play red ball cricket, should he and others like him participate in white-ball domestic cricket when they aren’t on national duty? If this…

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) February 29, 2024