(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] Hardik Pandya’s ankle injury has set the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in motion. As reported, an 18-week programme has been prepared for Pandya that will lead to his comeback in the road to recovery.
Pandya twisted his ankle while stopping a boundary off his own bowling in India’s World Cup 2023 match versus Bangladesh. This forced him out of the remainder of the tournament as India’s first-choice XI went for a toss.
Pandya missed the Australia T20I series and is also not picked for the squad touring South Africa as he is yet to fully recover from the injury. India’s next T20I assignment is scheduled against Afghanistan in January and the all-rounder is likely to be unavailable for that as well.
Pandya, who recently got traded to the Mumbai Indians from the Gujarat Titans, is expected to mark his comeback in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. Until then, he, reportedly, is set to undergo an extensive training programme that has been put in place by the National Cricket Academy.
“We speak of workload management. This is precisely what it is all about. Is there a doubt on his ability as a T20 cricketer? No. What we rather need is setting long-term goals and ensuring endurance levels remain up to the mark,” a source said as quoted by News18.
Pandya has had a troubled past plagued with injuries. However, as confirmed by the source, his ankle injury was nothing but a freak accident.
“First let’s be clear. Pandya’s earlier injury (back) was completely different from the freak injury or say ‘accident’ he suffered during the Bangladesh game in Pune. There is no relation between the two and it would be unfair to say he wasn’t in top shape for the World Cup or to suggest that he is injury prone. He made a successful comeback from the back injury, has been in superb shape and it was just an unfortunate incident,” he added.
Further, the source also shared that how a few other players also had to undergo a personalised training programme before returning to action from injuries.
“It is not something new. Shreyas, Bumrah and KL underwent similar programmes during their long injury layoffs and the routine is designed keeping the next assignments in mind. Say for KL, wicket-keeping, subcontinent heat and everything was taken into account. Similarly, Bumrah was eased into cricket with Ireland T20Is before he went full throttle in the Asia Cup.”