Mumbai Indians all-rounder went through fitness drills in India’s net session and bowled after months, raising the possibility of bowling against New Zealand.
Pandya’s bowling has been one of the most debated topics when it comes to India’s white ball teams. Hardik’s bowling is extremely crucial for the Indian team’s balance and more so in the much important clash against New Zealand in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.
Hardik, who had hurt his shoulder while batting against Pakistan, was taken for the scans and has been cleared to play against the Kiwis on October 31. He also rolled his arm over for 20 minutes in an optional training session at Dubai on Wednesday after going through fitness drills, which were monitored by physio Nitin Patel and strength and conditioning coach Sohum Desai. After his short stint with the ball, Hardik took throwdowns from the batting coach Vikram Rathour.
Since returning from back injury in 2020, Hardik did not bowl a single over for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League 2020 and bowled four overs in the second ODI of the following tour of Australia. He bowled nine overs in the third ODI match against England in March but did not bowl for Mumbai in the first leg of IPL 2021.
On the Sri Lanka tour, Hardik bowled a total 16 overs across three ODIs and a T20I but again played as a specialist batter in the second leg of the IPL.
There have been questions raised over Pandya’s place in the Indian team due to his unavailability as a bowler. But the team management and captain Virat Kohli has backed Hardik as a match-winner purely on his batting ability.
“What he brings at that No. 6 spot is something that you just can’t create overnight, and hence I was always in favour of backing him in Australia as a backer purely, and we saw what he did in the T20 series and how he can take the game away from the opposition when he’s in full flow,”
the skipper said.
