Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has criticized the BCCI’s selection committee for what he perceives as favoritism towards Hardik Pandya. Pathan’s comments come after the announcement of the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, where Pandya was named as the vice-captain of the team.
Speaking at a Star Sports press conference, Pathan emphasized the importance of equality in team selection. “It’s not tennis but a team game and everyone needs to be treated equally,” he said. Pathan went on to add that this principle applies to all players, regardless of their stature, including senior cricketers like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
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Pathan highlighted Pandya’s lack of recent game time as a cause for concern. After sustaining an injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pandya returned to competitive cricket directly in the IPL 2024, bypassing domestic matches altogether. This stands in contrast to players like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, who were dropped from the BCCI’s central contract list despite consistently featuring in international matches. Shreyas even played for Mumbai in this year’s Ranji Trophy .
Pathan, who shares his Baroda roots with Pandya, argued for a uniform selection process. “When he (Pandya) gets injured, a lot of guys get injured, they come back with the proper planning of playing matches and playing domestic cricket. But here is one guy who comes back without any of those requirements,” he said. Pathan expressed his concern that this preferential treatment could negatively impact team morale. “Because all the other guys in the team see this. And when they see that one guy is getting priority, it doesn’t work in the team environment,” Pathan concluded.
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