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Pandya, Rahul sent home by BCCI

Pair will miss ODI series after making inappropriate comments against women

Indian cricket's governing body has ordered batsman KL Rahul and allrounder Hardik Pandya to return home after their suspensions for controversial comments about women on a TV show.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) banned the pair with immediate effect after fallout from the talk show earlier this week.

Rahul and Pandya, both of whom have featured recently in all formats for India , have been widely criticised for their remarks, widely construed as sexist, during the talk show Koffee with Karan.

As a consequence, the BCCI revealed Rahul and Pandya would not feature in "any form of cricket" and return to India to answer charges of misconduct and indiscipline.

The pair will miss the entire three-match ODI series in Australia, set to start on Saturday at the SCG, followed by the tour of New Zealand, with the BCCI set to name replacements in due course.


A statement on the BCCI's official website read: "The CoA (Committee of Administrators), in accordance with the BCCI, has decided to suspend Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul from playing any form of cricket after their comments on a TV show.

"The duo will now return to India and an inquiry and proceedings will be made against them for misconduct and indiscipline that have been initiated under Rule 41 of the BCCI constitution.

"The duo is now called upon to provide an explanation as to why they should not be proceeded against for misconduct and indiscipline under Rule 41 of the BCCI constitution within a period of seven days."

Indian captain Virat Kohli said on Friday the "inappropriate comments" were something he and his team "definitely don't support".

Pandya has since expressed remorse, writing on social media: "I would like to apologise to everyone concerned who I may have hurt in any way.

"Honestly, I got a bit carried away with the nature of the show. In no way did I mean to disrespect or hurt anyone's sentiments. Respect."

Gillette ODI Series v India

Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa

India ODI squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

First ODI: January 12, SCG (D/N)

Second ODI: January 15, Adelaide Oval (D/N)

Third ODI: January 18, MCG (D/N)