Why Hardik Pandya got an upgrade to Grade A in the BCCI contracts
As expected, the central contracts announced by the BCCI have garnered ample traction. The absence of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan has been a massive surprise since the board didn’t clarify the reason not to hand them central deals.
Another talking point has been Hardik Pandya’s inclusion in Grade A for various reasons. Hardik seems to have recovered from the ankle injury he sustained in the World Cup last year and featured in the DY Patil Tournament along with Ishan Kishan.
The questions around special treatment to Pandya have been aplenty, with former cricketers and fans questioning BCCI’s decision to award Pandya a Grade A contract despite his constant absence from domestic tournaments across formats. Pandya has hardly featured in domestic series, even when fit, and often prioritises white-ball cricket, especially IPL.
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While Pandya’s superior all-round expertise is rare in the Indian circuit, treating him differently than others definitely doesn’t set the right example in the group. His case raised more eyebrows due to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan being avoided while finalising the central contracts despite playing more domestic games than Pandya in the previous few years.
Hardik Pandya promises to play in domestic tournaments
A top BCCI source confirmed to The Indian Express that the board officials have had a chat with Hardik Pandya. According to the source, Pandya has assured to feature in the domestic white-ball tournaments during layoff.
“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 BCCI’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.”
Clearly, the BCCI has chosen to take strict measures to maintain the quality of domestic tournaments. Pandya has been directed to feature in the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy later this year since India won’t have too many white-ball matches scheduled during October-December.
Pandya trained individually in Vadodara while being absent due to an ankle injury along with Ishan Kishan. According to The Indian Express, the all-rounder reported to NCA from time to time, where his fitness was assessed, and it worked in Pandya’s favour, leading to a national contract.
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