Sydney: Cricketers Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul will be sent back to India immediately to face a committee set up to probe their inappropriate comments on women on a television chat show. The quantum of punishment they will face, after being suspended for their remarks on the show Koffee with Karan, will be decided after they present their case to the panel.
Earlier, Captain Virat Kohli said the Indian team does not stand by Pandya and Rahul for making inappropriate comments on women but insisted that the controversy wonât affect the dressing room morale. “From the Indian cricket team point of view, any inappropriate comments that are made in that scenario are something that we definitely donât supportâŠand that has been communicated (to the two players),” he said at the pre-match press conference before the ODI series opener against Australia.
Diana Edulji, a member of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), said, “How can you expect them to be with the Indian team now? They will fly back home.” No time frame has been set yet to deliver a verdict against the two but the probe committee will first watch the complete episode and speak to the players before deciding whether to hand out the same punishment to both or treat them differently.
Though CoA chief Vinod Rai had earlier suggested a two-match ban, Edulji had stressed on following due procedure by first suspending the players before forming an inquiry committee. The Indian cricket boardâs old Constitution had a disciplinary committee but its new Constitution does not. The BCCI doesnât even have an ombudsman either.
Sources said that the board is contemplating the idea of involving the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), but it is unclear whether the CAC has any legal standing to deal with the issue.
“We have followed all procedure before suspending them. An email has been sent to players. We donât know how much time it will take for the probe to get over, we donât know what the quantum of punishment will be. We will be meeting soon to decide who will be part of the probe panel or the committee to look into this suspension. These players will have to be present whenever the probe committee calls them,” said Edulji.