Hardik Pandya to feature in white ball domestic matches and retains central contract
Indian cricket
The central contract announcement has stirred a lot of controversy considering Indian cricketers and the board. There have been players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan who have failed to make the contract due to tactical reasons on the other hand young and upcoming players Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer have been left out due to ignoring the directive of playing first-class matches. This has hurt the chances of the two talented players in the future already.
Another player who has also failed to live up to this ultimatum is Hardik Pandya. Pandya has not been part of the domestic circuit for some time as well and was not featured in the squad as well. Pandya was struggling with an ankle injury which he attained during the 2023 World Cup. Just like Kishan, it seemed like Hardik might also face the same problems since he was also caught preparing for the IPL with him as well.
Hardik gives assurance
Surprisingly the board has still provided him with a grade A contract already. This is because Hardik has given his assurance that he will be featuring in the white ball domestic games which include the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. There was still some debate as to why he wasn’t featuring for Baroda in first-class games to which the Indian Cricket Board officials released a statement saying “ We had discussions with Pandya, who has been told to participate in white-ball tournaments when he is not playing for India. According to the medical staff, he is not in a position to play red-ball matches. However, he will have to play white-ball cricket for his state. If he fails to report for the games, he will not be offered a new contract.”
It was also mentioned that unlike Kishan Hardik was still visiting the NCA in Bangalore. Hardik will be seen next in the Indian Premier League(IPL) where he will be leading the Mumbai Indians in the upcoming season. Hardik will still have a lot to do to get back his permanent spot, but he will still be in the mix of things in international cricket. There are still some big tournaments coming up like the T20 World Cup as well. Hardik could be setting his eyes on being part of that squad.
