Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after they handed Hardik Pandya a Grade A category annual contract despite not featuring in international cricket since the ODI World Cup while denying the same to Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for not playing domestic cricket.

The BCCI on Wednesday released the list of players that have been awarded annual central contracts for 2023–2024. Hardik suffered an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup in the match against Bangladesh and the all-rounder has been out of action ever since. Fans on social media also pointed out Pandya’s unavailability from domestic cricket regularly.