The debate over the decision by the BCCI to terminate the contracts of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer refuses to die down. Amid intense discussions over how some people escaped the wrath of the BCCI, bowling legend Irfan Pathan has voiced his opinion on how Mumbai Indians’ new skipper Hardik Pandya got the Grade A central contract.
In a sensational post on X on Thursday, Pathan said that Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer got a raw deal while Pandya was not judged on the same parameters and was included in BCCI’s 30-players list. ” 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,” Pathan asked in his post.
So how exactly did Pandya manage to get the central contract? According to a report by The Indian Express, the Mumbai Indians captain gave an undertaking to the BCCI that he will be available for the domestic cricket tournaments when not playing for Indian national team. The IE report says that Pandya has committed to play at the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s when there are no national white-ball matches.
What really worked for Pandya, according to the IE report was, his constant presence at the National Cricket Academy. At regular interval, Pandya has been reporting at the NCA regarding his fitness status. The star all-rounder has also assured the BCCI that he will feature in all domestic tournaments in case there are no overlaps with international matches.
The IE report also said that the cricket board will also give clear instructions to all players that everyone part of the central contract needs to report to their respective state teams. The decision by the BCCI comes after players were seen attending IPL camps while missing from their state unit practice during domestic matches. For example, Shreyas Iyer was seen attending the Kolkata Knight Riders camp while missing Ranji match.