BCCI Denies Star All-Rounder Hardik Pandya an Opportunity

Sports: The exclusion of Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya from the squad for the series against New Zealand has come as a surprise to fans and cricket experts alike.

Hardik, who recently created history by smashing the fastest century in Vijay Hazare Trophy, has not been given a place in India’s ODI team, raising serious questions over selection decisions.

Had the star all-rounder featured in the New Zealand series and scored 96 runs while picking up nine wickets, he would have entered the elite list of the greatest all-rounders in ODI cricket.

So far, Hardik Pandya has scored 1,904 runs in 68 innings across 94 ODIs and has also taken 91 wickets with the ball. The exclusive club of players with 2,000 runs and 100 wickets currently includes legends such as Shane Watson, Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Kapil Dev, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Viv Richards.

Had Hardik played against New Zealand, he could have comfortably joined this prestigious list.

With an eye on the 2027 ODI World Cup, Hardik Pandya’s role is considered extremely important for Team India, making his omission even more puzzling.

India Squad:

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (Captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja

New Zealand Squad:

Devon Conway, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell (Captain), Zakary Foulkes, Nick Kelly, Josh Clarkson, Michael Rae, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Hay, Aditya Ashok, Christian Clarke, Jaden Lennox