Ex-India Star's "Why Would You Punish Hardik Pandya" Remark After Irfan Pathan Asks BCCI To Treat Players Equally

Comparing the case of Hardik Pandya with that of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan after the BCCI contracts announcement, Irfan Pathan had said that the rule should be same for every player.

The BCCI recently announced the central contracts for year 2023-24. Among the trending names that failed to make a cut were Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. With the contracts, the BCCI also reiterated the mandate that players need to participate in domestic matches while not on national duty. Iyer and Kishan were the two players who passes a period when they were neither playing for Indian team nor their respective domestic teams. In the follow-up, the two were not considered for the central contracts.

While many former India players appreciated the board for maintaining a strict policy regarding the players' participation in domestic cricket, others pointed out that the rule is not the same for every player.

"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!" wrote former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan on X, formerly Twitter.

Another ex-India player Aakash Chopra though differed in opinion with Pathan and backed Pandya with facts.