Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling coach Shane Bond has shared an update on Hardik Pandya’s fitness. Incidentally, the ace all-rounder has gone missing from MI’s playing XI in the last two matches against Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Speaking on Hardik Pandya, Shane Bond stated that Pandya has not featured in the second phase of the IPL 2021 because they are “balancing” their needs as the T20 World Cup campaign is around the corner.
“Look, Hardik is training well like Rohit. He trained today and is getting closer to playing. We are obviously balancing the needs of our team with the needs of Team India as well. The one thing this franchise does really well is look after its players. We are not only trying to win this competition but also have an eye on the World Cup. We are hoping Hardik will be back for the next match and as I said, he trained today and trained pretty well on all counts.” Shane Bond said in a press conference on Thursday.
Hello Abu Dhabi 👋 It’s been a while 😊 pic.twitter.com/xMb9aoH1lD
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) September 3, 2021
Meanwhile, Shane Bond has commented after Mumbai’s heavy defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders. Hardik Pandya’s absence was clearly seen in both games and the team had struggled with their fifth bowling option as well as in the lower order in the batting.
“We will get him [Hardik Pandya] back shortly” – Shane Bond
Hardik Pandya hasn’t played any international cricket since India’s tour of Sri Lanka. Since he has been in the T20 World Cup squad, he is expected to be one of the first players to be picked in the playing XI against Pakistan on October 24 as well.
“There’s no hard directive. I think one thing you want to do with the key players in your team is looking after them. We are obviously desperate to put him back out on the field and he was desperate to play out tonight as well but you have to balance everything up, you have to consider what the player wants and one thing our franchise does is look after its players.
There’s also no point in rushing him back to get injured and miss the rest of the tournament when we may have a chance to win it. I think we’re doing the right thing as I said, hopefully, we will get him back shortly and he’ll get us back into the tournament, help us into the playoffs and hopefully win the tournament,” concluded Shane Bond.
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