The flamboyant Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya has been asked to join the India ODI and T20I squads in New Zealand after his suspension was lifted provisionally with immediate effect by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) earlier on Thursday (January 24). KL Rahul, who has also been provisionally cleared pending report submission of the BCCI Ombudsman, will join India A squad in Trivandrum for the final three one-dayers against England Lions.

Rahul and Pandya were originally suspended by the CoA on January 11 for their controversial statements on a television talk show. Their fate and sanction, if any, was up to the discretion of the ombudsman after the two-member CoA – Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji – found no middle ground on the next step of action.

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It was decided that CoA would wait for the Ombudsman, a position that was previously filled on the Supreme Court of India’s recommendation, to conduct a disciplinary inquiry and decide the punishment for the players if he/she deems necessary. The post, however, continues to remain vacant since late 2016 when Justice AP Shah excused himself from the responsibility. Last Thursday (January 17), the court adjourned the hearing to February 5.

Pandya and Raul were sent back home from Australia a day before the start of the ODI series, with Vijay Shankar called up to replace him for the ODIs in Australia and New Zealand. Shubman Gill replaced KL Rahul for the limited-overs leg in New Zealand and will continue to remain with the squad.

Pandya and Rahul, who were slapped international bans by the board for their sexist and misogynistic comments on the television talk show, are now available for selection to the national team again. Their comments during the show ‘Koffee with Karan’ were seen by some as disrespectful to women.