Reports | Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul to miss first ODI against Australia

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya and opener KL Rahul are likely to miss out in the first ODI match against the hosts Australia. Though KL Rahul was out of contention for a slot in the first ODI anyway, according to PTI, Hardik Pandya’s exclusion seems to have come on the back of the recent controversy generated by his comments in the television show “Koffee With Karan”.

“The team management has told Pandya that he is not playing tomorrow as they are yet to get a final directive. Rahul, in any case, wasn’t in contention for a first XI berth,” said a source close to the development to PTI.

While the comments made by Pandya was criticized by many on the social media, the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators(CoA) too have taken the matter seriously. While CoA chief Vinod Rai had recommended a two-match ban for the players, another CoA member Diana Edulji asked for legal opinion on the matter from the BCCI legal cell.

“The team management is waiting for an official communication on whether there is a provisional suspension and if they will be sent back,” he added.

Earlier in a press conference before the start of the India-Australia ODI series Indian skipper, Virat Kohli too disapproved of the comments made by both the players on the show.

“From the Indian cricket team point of view, any inappropriate comments that are made in that scenario are something that we definitely don’t support...and that has been communicated (to the two players),” said Kohli.

“...We definitely don’t align with those views and those are purely individual views. The two concerned players (have) felt what has gone wrong and they have understood the magnitude of what’s happened.”