Former Indian seamer criticises Mumbai Indians captain

“BCCI should scold Hardik Pandya and tell him to play all formats”

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India did not offer central contracts to Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for refusing to play red ball in domestic cricket, former India player Praveen Kumar has criticised Hardik Pandya for not playing in the Ranji Trophy matches.

Praveen questioned why, when the country needs him in Test cricket, Hardik Pandya is allowed to play only in white-ball formats. He accused the Indian cricket board of altering rules to suit the needs and demands of a single player. He challenged Hardik to provide written assurance that he would never participate in red-ball cricket.

Praveen Kumar said on Shubankar Mishra’s YouTube channel:

“Is Hardik Pandya from the moon? Why are the rules different for players? The BCCI should scold him with instructions for playing in all formats. He hasn’t played 60-70 Tests. India needs him and he should be ready for Test cricket.”

Hardik played his last Test match and Ranji Trophy game in 2018. Since then, he has not shown any interest in the longest format.

Currently, he is leading Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League 2024, having recently joined the pre-season camp after recovering from his ankle injury.