Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has admitted that he is unwilling to rush his return to bowling and run the risk of exhausting himself ahead of some important tournaments including ICC T20 World Cup. Incidentally, Hardik has played solely as a batsman since his return including IPL as he continues to recover from the back surgery.

The absence of Hardik Pandya – the bowler proved to be pivotal at the Sydney Cricket Ground as Australia piled up a mammoth total of 375 runs in the first ODI. Virat Kohli & Co were left with five bowlers which proved to be detrimental against a heavyweight Australian line-up. In the end, it proved to be enough to seal the tie and go 1-0 up in the three-match series.

I am looking at long-term goal – Hardik Pandya

Speaking about his return as a bowler, Hardik Pandya has made it clear that he is not likely to bowl any time soon. One of the reasons behind the decision is the successive T20 World Cups in the next two years.

“It is a process,” Hardik Pandya said when asked where he was with respect to a return to bowling. “I am looking at a long-term goal where I want to be 100% of my bowling capacity for the most important games. The World Cups are coming. More crucial series are coming.

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“I am thinking as a long-term plan, not short-term where I exhaust myself and maybe have something else [injury] which is not there. So it is going to be a process, which I am following. I can’t tell you exactly when I am going to bowl but the process is going on. In the nets, I am bowling. It is just that I am not game-ready but I am still bowling. It is all about confidence and the skill has to be at an international level,” he added.

However, Hardik Pandya made his presence felt with the bat in the first encounter. He played a fine knock of 90 runs off 76 deliveries including seven boundaries and four sixes but it wasn’t enough to seal a win for India. The Men in Blues might be prompted to tinker their line-up and bring in an extra bowler in the next game scheduled on December 29 to strengthen their bowling.

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