Hardik Pandya, whose suspension has been provisionally lifted by the BCCI, will join the Indian team in New Zealand. However, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has now raised a question about the position of Vijay Shankar, the Tamil Nadu-all-rounder who replaced Pandya in the squad.
He was also not very convinced with the way the entire case was handled and now questions the BCCI for lifting the suspension without a proper hearing.
'What was he suspended for?'
"The question is what was he (Hardik Pandya) suspended for? How has the suspension been lifted without a hearing? But forget all that," Gavaskar told India Today.
"Hardik will be key for India at the World Cup and it's a good thing he is coming to New Zealand but then what happens to Vijay Shankar? He has not done a bad job at all in the two games he has played so far. What's going to be his position? Is he going to be sent back now that Pandya is coming here?" he added.
Gavaskar, who was never very convinced about the huge squad which was named for Australia tour, said that he understands that the BCCI is wealthy enough to have 19-20 people on a tour, but they should sort this out sooner rather later.
There have been different opinions floating around pertaining to the suspension of Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul. In fact, Rahul Dravid believes that both the cricketers should now look to be role models after the episode.
"I somehow just don't feel that interview truly reflected the players. Hopefully, they will come back better and stronger from this. I will say honestly, I do believe that both of them have not yet achieved their obvious potential that they both have, and maybe this might be the catalyst that would lead them to reflect and help them reach the level and potential they can achieve in all forms of the game. If they can do that they can certainly be role models," Dravid said in an interview to ESPNCricinfo.
