Little did Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul know that the ‘lewd’ comments made on Koffee With Karan Season 6 episode to look ‘uber-cool’ to their fans would backfire so much that there will not only be a public backlash, but also result in their ouster from the team. The public outrage resulted in the duo being sent home in the middle of India’s Tour to Australia.

The indefinite suspension on Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul meant that they would miss the 3-match ODI series against Australia. And when they were sent home, it was evident that the duo will also miss the ODI series in New Zealand. The BCCI announced Vijay Shankar and Shubman Gill as their replacements in the squad against Australia and New Zealand respectively.

Well, with no clarity on the issue and the matter being dragged to the Supreme Court now, the availability of Pandya and Rahul is under shadow too. Will they be featuring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 or not is also a question which many are pondering.

A recent report doing the rounds is suggesting that the IPL franchises that Pandya and Rahul represent want them to be available for the IPL 12 season. The franchises have condemned the comments made by the under-fire duo, but then do not want the ongoing controversy to hamper their IPL availability.

As per the InsideSport report, a senior executive of an IPL franchise stated, “We don’t deny as what they said is not acceptable. Our management is clear that he (the player) will be sanitised before donning our jersey for the season and you will see a sea change in his behaviour and attitude after that. The issue has been discussed deeply by our management. While the team owners are furious about the whole episode, management is of the view that we are not in a state to make an emotional decision.”

The report also suggested that if the duo of Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul was to be punished the BCCI could demote them in their central contracts. But making them unavailable for the 2019 IPL would be a big blow for them.

The VIVO Indian Premier League 12 is set to begin from March 23 in India. It will be interesting to see how far the chapter of Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul goes as far their participation in or ouster from the Indian team is concerned. With the ICC World Cup 2019 looming over, the Indian think tank cannot afford their absence for long, if they are in the scheme of the things for the mega event.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 18, 2019 02:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).