Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul to miss ODI series against Australia pending enquiry: BCCI official

Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul were suspended on Friday pending an inquiry into their comments on women during their appearance on TV chat show Koffee With Karan, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai said.

Earlier, speaking to Hindustan Times a source in the know of developments had said that a fresh show cause notice was being issued to the players on the lines suggested by the legal team and the two players would in all likelihood miss the ODI series in Australia.

Also Read: Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul dropped from first ODI – Reports

“Too early to say what exactly will be the course of action, but fresh show cause notices will be issued to the players and they will in all likelihood miss the ODI series as they would be suspended pending enquiry,” the source said.

Reacting to the legal team’s opinion, Edulji wrote: “Based on the legal opinion and till the time the final procedure is laid down to address this issue, will recommend that a communication be sent to the concerned players and the team immediately. It will be imperative that the players be put under suspension till a further course of action is decided for this misconduct as was done in the case of CEO when he was sent on leave in the sexual harassment matter.”

While acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary agreed with the same, treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry said: “In terms of Rule 41(6), considering that the inquiry process against the concerned players will have commenced and would be pending, the concerned players ought to be suspended (along with their privileges and benefits) pending enquiry and proceeding into the charges of misconduct until final adjudication.

“It is abundantly clear that the suspension would however cease if the said adjudication was not completed within 6 months. However, we must strive to ensure that the process gets completed within a month or so at most.”

Earlier, the legal team had asked for the immediate appointment of an Ombudsman since the board doesn’t have one at present.

“Considering that the BCCI at present does not have an Ombudsman, the COA, in our view, will be justified in and entitled to appoint an ad hoc ombudsman with a defined specific mandate of adjudicating on the present matter. The Ad hoc Ombudsman should possess the qualifications required for an Ombudsman under Rule 40(1) of the BCCI constitution.

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