Hardik Pandya Commits To White-Ball Domestic Cricket Amid Backlash, Confirms Jay Shah
Hardik to play white-ball domestic cricket [AP]
In a major revelation ahead of the T20 World Cup, the BCCI secretary told Cricbuzz that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has agreed to feature in white-ball domestic tournaments after being granted a Grade A central contract earlier this year.
BCCI's annual central contracts retention list caused a massive uproar amongst the Indian cricket fraternity after two regular faces, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, were excluded for prioritizing IPL over domestic and international duties.
However, on the contrary, star all rounder Hardik Pandya was promoted to Grade A contract with lingering fitness issues and no domestic appearances whatsoever.
After widespread debate, BCCI secretary Jay Shah came forward to clear the air and justify Pandya's contract retention.
Jay Shah speaks about Hardik Pandya
Jay Shah spoke to Cricbuzz and confirmed that the apex body had a detailed chat with Hardik Pandya to understand his stand, and the latter expressed his commitment to feature in white-ball domestic tournaments i.e the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. henceforth.
Jay Shah stated that it was only after Pandya's commitment that the board decided to retain him on the central contract list.
Notably, days after the release of the central contract retention list, Hardik Pandya was seen participating in the DY Patil local T20 tournament to show his readiness for the IPL 2024 season.
It's important to note that following his central contract retention, Hardik Pandya was appointed as vice-captain in India's 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, despite participating in domestic tournaments following the contract snub, have yet to be reinstated and have also missed out on the T20 World Cup squad selection.