No Ranji Trophy mandate for Hardik Pandya, Indian Cricket Board official explains

Many Indian cricketers have represented the national team in Test matches already, but sometimes when the player does not seem to get going in the longest format, they have to play a few Ranji Trophy matches. Most of the players like Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have already been given that mandate as well. Players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are also spending their time playing in the domestic tournament to get back into the Test team as well. Almost all the players had to go through this process to establish themselves in international cricket already. 

This mandate has however not been given to India Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Hardik has been one of the important players known for his all-round ability. He is set to lead the Mumbai Indians(MI) in the upcoming Indian Premier League(IPL) this year. Hardik has played all the franchise leagues and T20 games and list A matches, but somehow has not been part of the first-class tournaments. This is also astonishing since Hardik’s numbers in Test matches are not bad as well, where he is averaging over 30 and has taken 17 wickets in his 11 Test matches.

The board gives its reasons

The board has given their reason as to why Hardik does not need to play red-ball cricket any more. There have been fitness issues with Hardik Pandya in the game that have caused a lot of problems, and seeing this, the board has openly given the reason stating “ We can understand Hardik Pandya's case as his body can't take the rigors of red-ball cricket. He can't withstand the workload of Test cricket and Team India needs him fit for Apex Cricket Council events.” This was a clear remark from the board officials regarding this decision.

This seems fair since Hardik’s fitness has been an issue even today. There is no doubt that a player like Hardik is always a plus sign for any team, as he can give you some great knocks with the bat and bowl some handy spells. But you also need him fit enough to play the big games as well. This was a problem in the past when Hardik also had a serious back problem that made him miss a lot of games as well. We all might want to see Hardik in red ball cricket, but with how his body has been reacting it will really be tough for them.