Disgraced; Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul sent back home from overseas tour to face probe

The storm surrounding Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul's appearance on Koffee With Karan just does seem to die down as the two have now been sent back from India's ongoing tour to the Land Down Under. While player controversies are nothing new when it comes to the Indian cricket team, the fact that two players have been sent back from an overseas tour is happening for the first time after 82 years. The last time this happened was in 1936 when Lala Amarnath was sent back during an ongoing tour of England for insubordinate behaviour during a first class game. For Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul, the magnitude of punishment they will be facing will be decided once they present their case in front of a panel back home. The ODI Series vs Australia began today and in a pre-match press conference yesterday, captain Virat Kohli addressed the issue. "From the Indian cricket team point of view, any inappropriate comments that are made in that scenario are something that we definitely don’t support…and that has been communicated (to the two players),” he said. While the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai had earlier recommended a two-match ban for the tainted duo, another CoA member Diana Edulji has since stressed on the importance of following due procedure when it comes to meting out punishment in this case. Elsewhere, the BCCI have since been accused of double standards given the fact that a high level officer within its ranks, CEO Rahul Johri, had been found "not guilty" of sexual assault charges after his name had cropped up during the #MeToo movement in India. Up until now, there has not been a time frame which has been set in which the panel is set to deliver its verdict in the cases of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya. The exact method of the panel hearing remains a concern given the fact that the BCCI's new Constitution does not account for a disciplinary board. Vijay Shankar and 19-year-old Shubman Gill will replace KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya in the series against Australia and New Zealand.

---

Also read: Cricket may be a ‘religion’ in India but Hardik Pandya proves cricketers definitely aren’t gods