New Delhi/Sydney: Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul will be sent home on the first available flight from Australia as the BCCI suspended them on Friday for their outrage-evoking comments on women, hours after the duo’s on-field leader Virat Kohli expressed his disapproval.
The under-fire players have been suspended pending an inquiry into their sexist comments on a TV show, ruling them out of the three-match ODI series against Australia, beginning Saturday in Sydney.
“Both Pandya and Rahul have been suspended pending an inquiry,” the Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai told PTI. A few hours later it was confirmed that a decision has been taken to send them home from Australia. “It’s confirmed. The duo are being sent back. If they can book tickets then tomorrow they will be leaving (for India) or latest by day after,” a senior BCCI official said.
He added that at this point their chances of making the squad for the New Zealand tour is also “bleak”. The suspension letter, as per clause 41 (6) of BCCI, states: “CoA suspends Pandya, Rahul from participating in ‘any match or function or event or activity that is authorized, organized, sanctioned, recognized or supported in any way by the BCCI, the ICC or any State Association, until final adjudication of the matter’.”
The Koffee with Karan episode featuring the cricketers has since been taken down by the channel’s online platform. On the show, Pandya had boasted about hooking up with multiple women and being open about it with his parents. (PTI)
