Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has reacted to Hardik Pandya’s absence from the Indian team owing to his longstanding injury. The Indian all-rounder is also contemplating retiring from Test cricket to manage his workload and elongate his career. Pandya played the T20 World Cup earlier this year and then was asked by the selectors to work on his fitness at the NCA.

Shoaib Akhtar spoke about meeting Hardik and Bumrah in the UAE during the 2018 Asia Cup. He ended up sustaining a back injury “exactly an hour and a half” after his interaction with the Indian all-rounder at the time. Pandya suffered an acute lower back injury and the Indian seamer was stretchered off the field during the play against Pakistan in Dubai.

Hardik, Bumrah Looked So Lean: Shoaib Akhtar

“I told Bumrah in Dubai, even Hardik Pandya… still have such strong back muscles behind my shoulders, but they looked so lean. I was shocked. I warned him that you will get injured, but he told me that he has been playing a lot of cricket. Exactly an hour and a half later, he got injured,” Akhtar said.

Pandya was dropped from the Indian Test squad after he failed to recover in time for the Australia series. Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli specifically spoke about Hardik’s availability depending on how much is he able to contribute to the team as an all-rounder.

He has bowled in bits and pieces in international cricket in recent times. He bowled a few overs in the T20 World Cup but did not look in the best of shape.

Pandya was then dropped for the home series against New Zealand with the selectors asking him to work on his fitness to regain. his place in the XI. The selectors are now grooming Venkatesh Iyer to be Pandya’s replacement in the white-ball formats. He made his T20I debut for India in the series against the Kiwis.

Some reports also say that the selectors are willing to include him in the white-ball squad for the ODI series against South Africa.

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