The COA suspended the duo for crass comments made on a television show, with Pandya and Rahul missing five matches before being recalled.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Committee of Administrators (COA), on Thursday, handed over the Hardik Pandya-KL Rahul case to its ombudsman to decide the punishment. But it has failed to refer or even address the other issue of the alleged sexual harassment case against its CEO Rahul Johri.
Justice DK Jain, who recently was appointed as BCCI's first ombudsman after implementation of the new constitution as per SC orders, will now decide if the two Indian players deserve further punishment or the suspension served by them is good enough. The COA suspended the duo for crass comments made on a television show, with Pandya and Rahul missing five matches before being recalled.
The COA comprising Vinod Rai, Diana Edulji and the newly-included Lt General Ravi Thodge met in New Delhi to discuss the outcome of the ICC's meeting in Dubai last week. It is understood that Rai wanted Pandya-Rahul issue to be solved quickly due to the upcoming IPL and World Cup.
All three members of the COA immediately agreed to forward the matter to the ombudsman without even a discussion on the topic of alleged sexual harassment issue of Johri. In fact, it was the ill-handling of Johri's case that even created rift between Edulji and Rai to the extent that the former reached the doorsteps of the Apex court.
"We have referred the matter concerning Rahul and Pandya to the Ombudsman. He has just taken charge (earlier this month) and it is the only case we have referred so far," Rai said after the meeting on Thursday.
Govt to take call on Pak
Meanwhile, Rai also maintained that a decision to play Pakistan in the World Cup on June 16 in Manchester lies in the hands of the government and said there is no change in BCCI's stance with regards to alienating Pakistan from the cricketing world.
"The letter was placed. It clearly says Pakistan. It is a process. Have we been able to boycott any of the countries in the Security Council? The process is slow. We have started a process," Rai said.
Also discussed was ICC's desire for the BCCI to become a compliant of World Anti-Doping Association (WADA), which is stalling cricket's participation in Olympics. Rai is expected to meet ICC chairman Shashank Manohar next week.
While BCCI has never agreed to come under the ambit of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), which falls under WADA, the ICC is understood to have warned the BCCI that if it doesn't fall in line, it would not be allowed to participate in Olympics.
IPL matches at 8 pm
Despite calls from the IPL sponsors and the stakeholders to advance the IPL match timing, the COA decided against making any changes. The afternoon matches will begin at 4pm with the evening matches at 8pm.
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