How Hardik Pandya Got Grade A BCCI Central Contract
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There has been a lot of debate around Hardik Pandya’s selection, even if the decision to remove Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan off the central contracts list for missing domestic competitions continues to elicit conflicting responses. According to The Indian Express, Pandya’s contract was only granted by the BCCI and selectors following his promise to play for Baroda in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s if he had no white-ball obligations with the national squad.
In addition to Shreyas and Ishan, Pandya’s position in Grade A of the yearly contract list was also discussed during the most recent meeting. Pandya has not played competitive cricket since he injured his ankle during the World Cup in October. However, he made his comeback to the game last week by playing for Reliance in the DY Patil competition. Similar to Ishan, Pandya has been working on his own in Vadodara. However, he has an advantage since he has been periodically reporting to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to have his fitness evaluated.
Pandya Pledges to Play Domestic
A senior BCCI official claims that Pandya has further pledged to participate in local competitions provided his schedule doesn’t conflict with his international obligations. After our conversations, Pandya was instructed to participate in domestic white-ball competitions whenever he is free. Based on the medical team’s evaluation, he is now deemed unable to bowl in red-ball competitions by the BCCI. Therefore, Pandya cannot play for the Ranji Trophy. However, if he has no obligations to India, he must compete in other white-ball competitions.
The Future Tours Programme states that because India has a full Test schedule, they will only play three Twenty20 Internationals at home against Bangladesh. The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s and Vijay Hazare Trophy will take place between October and December, when India has no white-ball fixtures. Additionally, Pandya has been instructed to compete in both of these events unless he has any health concerns.
Read More: Shreyash Iyer And Ishan Kishan Are Out Of BCCI Central Contract
Exclusion of Shreyas and Ishan Kishan
Shreyas and Ishan were not given consideration for the 2023–24 yearly contracts, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said on Wednesday, citing the selectors’ recommendations. Despite the fact that the two spent most of 2023 as a part of the national team in all three forms, their absence from the Ranji Trophy has garnered harsh criticism from a number of sources. Additionally, Shreyas and Ishan were absent from the following round of Ranji matches even though Shah had written to contracted players asking them to take part in the competition.
