Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya posted photos of his training sessions on social media on Tuesday, September 10. His most recent outing was during India’s tour of Sri Lanka, where he participated in two of the three T20I matches, amassing 31 runs and claiming two wickets as India secured a clean sweep.
He was unable to attend subsequent ODI series due to private concerns and has been out of cricket for a while. Hardik uploaded some pictures of him, one of which showed him running while another showed him practicing throwdowns in nets, as he is preparing for the upcoming Bangladesh T20Is next month.
He captioned the post:
“Picking up the pace.”
Picking up the pace ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/YQXruVJBC9
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) September 10, 2024
On October 6th in Gwalior, the three-match T20I series will get underway. The second match is scheduled for October 9th in Delhi while the series will come to an end with the last game in Hyderabad on October 13th.
“We need someone who is consistently available” – Chief selector Ajit Agarkar on not choosing Hardik Pandya as India’s T20I captain
Earlier this year Hardik Pandya served as vice-captain of Team India that emerged victorious at T20 World Cup. He had a huge influence on the team during the final over of their match against South Africa, where he saved 16 runs.
After captain Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20Is after winning, this meant India would have a new leader in the shortest format. Similarly, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja did the same.
Normally, the vice-captain would take over captaincy in such instances, but Indian board chose Suryakumar Yadav because of Hardik’s fitness concerns. “In July,” said chief selector Ajit Agarkar at a joint press conference with the new head coach Gautam Gambhir:
“He (Hardik) is still a very important player for us and we want him to be the player that he can be because those sorts of skill sets are very difficult to find. Fitness has been a challenge for him over the last few years, and then it becomes a bit more difficult for a coach or even us, the selectors.”
“Now we have got a bit more time till the next T20 World Cup where we can look at a few things. It is not rushed at the moment. He is an important player for us and performances are more important. That was the thought behind it. Fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who is likely to be available more often than not,” he continued.
Suryakumar had an ideal beginning to his role as full-time T20I captain, guiding India to a clean sweep over Sri Lanka.
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