India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was slammed by the former head coach of his domestic Baroda, Dav Whatmore. Whatmore, who is famous for guiding Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup title, coached Baroda's side for two seasons.
Whatmore was the head coach of the side in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and slammed Hardik Pandya for not prioritizing domestic cricket during his tenure.
The Baroda cricketer is going through a lot on both professional and personal fronts. Hardik and his wife Natasa Stankovic announced their divorce recently. And then, surprisingly he was overlooked for India’s T20I captaincy by the BCCI selection committee and Suryakumar Yadav was named India captain in his place.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and new head coach Gautam Gambhir took this decision after raising concerns about Hardik's fitness and emphasizing the importance of a long-term captain.
In a surprise move, Pandya will play for his home team Baroda in the next Vijay Hazare Trophy. The allrounder last represented Baroda in 2018. With the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled for next year, the BCCI has decided to monitor his fitness in the ODI format through this domestic tournament.
Meanwhile, Dav Whatmore took a dig at Hardik Pandya for not prioritizing his state team in the past, noting that Pandya last played a first-class match for Baroda in 2018 against Mumbai.
"There are still some individuals who don't play white-ball cricket. For example, during my last few years in Baroda, Hardik Pandya wouldn't ever play white-ball cricket. It always amuses me that he's termed an allrounder from Baroda but hasn't played for Baroda in years! So, yes, some don't do that," Whatmore said on Pak Passion's YouTube channel.
"But recently, I've seen that the BCCI is keen for players to participate in the Ranji Trophy as well as other formats to ensure they view cricket as a sport. Efforts are being made to ensure four-day cricket is not neglected," Whatmore added.
Pandya, who bowled the crucial last over in India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados, is part of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.
