Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul’s trouble doesn’t seem to end after their controversial remarks on the popular TV show ‘Koffee with Karan’.
As per the latest reports, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai has proposed the two-match ban for the duo. However, the other CoA member, Diana Edulji, is yet to give her approval on Rai’s recommended penalty.
“I am not convinced with Hardik’s explanation and I have recommended a two-match ban for both players. However, the final decision will be taken once Diana gives her go ahead,” Rai told PTI.
On Wednesday (December 9), CoA sent a showcause notice to both Pandya and Rahul, seeking clarification for their comments on the show hosted by renowned Bollywood director Karan Johar.
Reports also claim that Edulji was furious at Pandya’s "misogynistic" and "sexist" comments on the show. She wanted both the players to be immediately called back from Australia but the CoA rather settled for a two-match ban. India are slated to play a three-match ODI series against Australia from January 12.
“Edulji has sought legal opinion whether the duo can be banned. So, obviously a decision will be taken once she gives her nod. As far as I am concerned, the comments were crass, in bad taste and unacceptable,” Rai told the news agency.
Apparently, Edulji and Rai are not on the same page on various issues lately.
“There was no need to seek a legal opinion on this issue. Diana has aligned to some BCCI officials (namely acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry) and she is unnecessarily taking the legal route on every trivial issue. In the past also, BCCI has handed bans to players for their indiscretions,” sources close to the CoA informed CricketNext.
Pandya faced the backlash after he opened up about things like not asking the names of women at parties, sending the same text to multiple women and watching them move on the dance among others.
“Apart from the bans, both the players will be spoken to individually once they are back from Australia and New Zealand. The BCCI had a handbook on guidelines for appropriate behaviour by contracted players. These players will be educated on how to behave in front of the public because their indiscretions reflect poorly on the BCCI as well,” a senior Board official told CricketNext.
(With inputs from CricketNext)
