New Delhi, India

Former India bowler and commentator Irfan Pathan has taken a dig at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for giving special treatment to Hardik Pandya as they prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. Despite Pandya struggling to put together a neat performance as the captain of Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) he is still expected to board the flight for the T20 World Cup. According to Pathan, he should be treated as every other player in the Indian squad by the BCCI. 

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Irfan takes dig at BCCI

"What I feel about Hardik Pandya is that Indian cricket needs to make it clear that they should not give him that much priority as they have given him so far because we still haven't won the World Cup. And if you think you are a primary all-rounder, you need to make that kind of an impact at the international level. As far as the all-rounder is concerned he hasn't made that impact at the international level, we are only thinking about the potential,” Irfan said while speaking on Star Sports. 

Hardik is one of the first names to be heading to the USA with the Indian team during the T20 World Cup which starts on June 1. However, considering his poor form as captain Hardik would be under pressure, but he is not feeling the heat. 

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Is Hardik getting VIP treatment despite missing Tests?

Considering BCCI’s policy to ask players to play domestic cricket on mandate, Hardik has frequently skipped first-class cricket and avoided playing in Test format. Despite this, he has not been penalised by BCCI. Hardik last played for India in Test format in September 2018 while his last Ranji Trophy match came in December 2018 when he represented Baroda against Mumbai. 

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With players like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer getting omitted from the central contract by BCCI, Hardik still retained his place.