Sakash Chopra has sensationally defended BCCI's decision to offer Hardik Pandya a central contract and has asserted that the Indian all-rounder has made no offence to not deserve an annual contract.

The BCCI Contracts 2024 was released recently and Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan missed out on it. The apex body of Indian cricket decided to omit both cricketers after their recent antics. Both Iyer and Kishan failed to play the Ranji Trophy matches citing mental health and injury issues, which wasn't taken lightly by BCCI amid their ongoing push and prioritising of domestic cricket. On the other hand, Hardik Pandya, who hasn't been featuring Test cricket for a long time, was handed a central contract. A section of fans then accused BCCI of partialism and special treatment for Pandya. But former India player Aakash Chopra finds no mistake in BCCI's decision and feels Hardik Pandya shouldn't have been punished as he didn't make any mistake. "Hardik Pandya's case is very simple. Why would you punish him if he has not made a mistake? He is not playing red-ball cricket. That ambition or aspiration does not exist anymore. He has not said that as such, but the truth is that he is not available at all for any Test series," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel. "Why would you play four-day games when you don't have that much strength in your body to bowl so many overs and have injury problems? So why should he play - fair play," Chopra added. Hardik Pandya was out injured during the World Cup 2023 and didn't feature until the DY Patil T20 Cup which is currently taking place. The all-rounder didn't play a part in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy because he was still unfit when those limited-overs tournaments took place. Pandya is going to return to Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024 and is set to lead the team there. Although India will be captained by Rohit Sharma in the T20 World Cup, the baton then may be handed over to the Bardoa-born player.