Pandya, Rahul suspended pending inquiry; to be issued fresh show cause notices
New Delhi, Jan 11: Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul were Friday suspended pending an inquiry into their outrage-evoking comments on women during a TV show, ruling them out of the ODI series against Australia starting Saturday.
The cricketers, who have been in the eye of a storm following their sexist remarks on 'Koffee with Karan', were omitted from the line-up for the opening match in Sydney.
"Both Pandya and Rahul have been suspended pending an inquiry," the Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai told PTI.
A source in the BCCI said the two will be issued fresh show cause notices before a formal enquiry begins.
"Whether it will be an internal committee of the BCCI or an ad hoc ombudsman who will conduct an inquiry, is yet to be ascertained," the official said.
"The Indian team management will take a call on whether they would want to keep the two with the team or send them back. There is a school of thought that they be kept with the team as the backlash back home could be severe but majority in BCCI brass is against the decision," he added.
In case the two are brought back from Australia, the likes of Rishabh Pant and Manish Pandey will be in contention to be their replacements.
"It won't be surprising if two from Vijay Shankar, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey or Rishabh Pant are flown Down Under," the source said.
The decision to hand them suspensions came after Rai's CoA colleague Diana Edulji recommended suspension till further action against the two. This was after the BCCI's legal team refused to declare the duo's comments a violation of the code of conduct.
Edulji had initially suggested a two-match suspension for the duo but referred the matter to the legal cell after Vinod Rai agreed with her and recommended the same.
"It is imperative that players be put under suspension till further course of action is decided for this misconduct as was done in case of (BCCI) CEO (Rahul Johri) when he was sent on leave on sexual harassment matter," read Edulji's response to the legal opinion which is in possession of PTI.
Their remarks on the show were also condemned by India captain Virat Kohli, who called them inappropriate and asserted that the side does not stand by "those individual opinions".
Pandya had boasted about hooking up with multiple women and being open about it with his parents during the interview. Rahul was, however, a shade more restrained in his responses on relationships and women.
It is speculated that the BCCI might bar players from appearing on entertainment shows owing to the ongoing furore.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
