“Has Hardik Pandya come from the moon?” ex-Indian pacer asks why the all-rounder doesn’t play domestic cricket 

Praveen Kumar demanded that Hardik Pandya should be a regular player in the Test team.

“Has Hardik Pandya come from the moon?” ex-Indian pacer asks why the all-rounder doesn’t play domestic cricket 

Hardik Pandya in action during the 2023 ODI World Cup (Image via ESPN)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently took a crucial step to ensure that domestic cricket is looked at with importance, leading to a few players losing out on their contracts. The message, meanwhile, was loud and clear- play domestic cricket to graduate to the national team.

While Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan lost their contracts, all-rounder Hardik Pandya was retained. Pandya has not played for Baroda in years, usually resting when he was not selected for the Indian Team. Praveen Kumar, a former Indian pacer who regularly played in the domestic circuit, called out Pandya for not playing domestic cricket. 

YouTube video
Hardik Pandya chaand se thodi utar ke aaya hai? Khelna padega isko bhi. Kyun iske liye alag niyam hai? Isko bhi board ko dhamkana chahiye. (Has Hardik Pandya come from the moon? He needs to play. Why are there different rules for him? The BCCI should threaten him).
Praveen Kumar said

Kumar further said that Pandya should give importance to Test cricket as well. He asked if Pandya had played 60-70 Tests, and demeaned him for playing only T20s. Kumar finished his rant by theorizing that Pandya informed the BCCI that he didn’t want to play Tests anymore. 

Brad Hogg believes Gujarat Titans are better without Hardik Pandya 

Hardik Pandya made the move from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians before the start of the season. Captaining them to back-to-back IPL finals, and winning one, many thought Titans would struggle without Pandya. But former Australian spinner, Brad Hogg, believes the team will now improve with the all-rounder gone. 

Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans during the 2023 IPL (Image via ESPN)
I don't think Hardik Pandya is that big a loss really (for GT). Yes, he is a quality all-rounder in the middle order, but they can cover it. They have got really good bowling depth there. He was batting in the top order, but I don't think he was best suited there, so Gujarat Titans are better off without him
Brad Hogg on his YouTube channel

Hogg further said that Mumbai Indians needed a pace bowling all-rounder more than GT. He also added that Pandya would thrive at lower-middle order at MI. 

In case you missed!