Hardik Pandya Says Team India Not Given 'Basic Necessities' On Tour Of West Indies, Slams Windies Cricket Board

India's stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya slammed West Indies Cricket for the conduct of the ongoing tour after India clinched the ODI series 2-1 on Wednesday. After a shock defeat in the second ODI, India made a strong comeback to thump the Caribbeans by 200 runs. After lauding his team for their exceptional performance in the series decider, Pandya said he hoped West Indies Cricket could take note of the lapses and ensure that basic necessities are provided to visiting teams in future.

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"This was one of the nicest grounds we have played on. Things can be better when we come to West Indies next time. Things like travel... hopefully, the West Indies cricket board can take note and ensure that there are no hiccups. We don’t ask for luxury but we need some basic necessities taken care of," Pandya said in the post-match presentation.
Pandya's comments came amid reports that the Indian team was stranded at the airport for approximately four hours due to delayed flights.

From 1-1 to 2-1! _ _

The smiles say it all! __ __ #TeamIndia | #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/M3oQLNUOg0 — BCCI (@BCCI) August 2, 2023

During his post-match interview, Pandya disclosed that he interacted with Virat Kohli before the match and the latter advised him to spend some time at the crease to end his lean phase with the willow.

"I took it deep intentionally, wanted to have some time out in the middle. Had a great chat with Virat before the game, he wanted me to spend some time out in the middle and get used to the 50-over format. Really thankful for him to share that experience with me. Once you hit one ball and get into rhythm things are very different. The ball was doing just a bit. Scoring 350 was always crucial. When you have a total like that, batters chase the ball and if the luck is one your side, batters will nick it. Couple of really good catches by Gill," he added. After securing the Test and the ODI series, India will now be keen to claim the five-match T20I series which begins on Thursday.