Hardik Pandya of India (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
New Delhi: Hardik Pandya did not attend either of Mumbai Indians’ two afternoon training sessions ahead of Saturday’s match against Delhi Capitals. It is understood that the Mumbai Indians captain does not want to push his injury-prone body through the grueling two-month IPL schedule.
But Hardik is fighting another battle besides planning the five-time champions’ campaign.TOI He realizes that he has been working overtime for the last four months to assure the Indian team management and selectors that he is ready to bowl his full quota of 10 overs in ODI matches outside the IPL. India’s preparations for the October-November 2027 ODI World Cup will be in full swing after the Indian Premier League.
He watches
Ryan Parag is honest: dealing with criticism, captain’s calls and rain chaos
While announcing the squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand on January 3, the Indian Cricket Board (
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
) Secretary Devajit Saikia stated that Hardik was not allowed to bowl 10 overs in a match by the BCCI Center of Excellence (CoE).
The BCCI release also claimed that Hardik has been retained for the subsequent T20 World Cup. Interestingly, five days later, Hardik bowled 10 overs with figures of 3/66 in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Chandigarh.TOI I learned that Hardik approached the selectors and management of the Indian team in January itself. The team management informed him that they would prefer him to be available to play 10 times before the World Cup finals in South Africa next year.
It may be noted that Hardik suffered a quadriceps injury before the Asia Cup final in September and returned to T20I cricket on December 9 in the series against South Africa. Sources told TOI that Hardik had expressed his desire to play in both white-ball formats, but the BCCI took a conservative approach keeping the T20 World Cup in mind.“Hardik is expected to play a big role in the ODI preparation given that the World Cup will be played on fast and bouncy pitches in South Africa.
It can provide the perfect balance. But he has to convince selectors and team management that he will be available to bowl 10 overs. He may not be asked to do this every game. The captain may end up bowling 6-7 overs in most matches. But he should be available if the captain needs more of him,” a BCCI source told TOI.
“The selectors are also looking at other bowling options. Nitish Kumar Reddy has increased his bowling workload in domestic cricket as well,” the source added.Hardik has been giving his best at the Center of Excellence and outside it. He shuttles between Mumbai and Baroda to train with his dedicated team. “Hardik has increased his workload. He has worked on his bowling movements as well without compromising on pace. That’s why he has been tasked with bowling with the new ball in the T20s. He feels his body is ready to handle the rigors of bowling 10 overs in ODIs. He understands his body well enough and is working on maintaining his fitness for bowling 10 overs,” the source claimed.
