The T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026 are planned, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly taking a patient and cautious approach to Hardik’s return. After suffering a left ankle injury during India’s ODI World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh in Pune, Hardik Pandya is presently recuperating. The star all-rounder injured his ankle while attempting to stop a boundary off his own bowling.
In the summit match, Australia defeated India, and he missed the rest of the World Cup. As a result, Hardik was unable to play in the T20I series against Australia and will not be able to travel to South Africa. According to reports, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) created a customized 18-week regimen for Hardik to assist him in returning to maximum condition. Program components that include cardio, strength training, functional training, rest, and recovery will come to an end in March.
We discuss how to manage workloads. That is exactly the main point of it all. Is his skill as a Twenty20 cricket player in question? No. Setting long-term objectives and making sure endurance levels are appropriate are more important than anything else, News18 cited a reliable source as saying.
Hardik has previously struggled with injuries, most notably a severe back ailment that kept him out of the game for more than a year. The source clarified that his current injury is unrelated to his past ones, though, and that he should not be labeled as an injury-prone cricket player.
Let’s be clear first. Pandya’s strange injury, or better still, “accident,” sustained during the Bangladesh game in Pune was entirely different from his prior injury (a back injury). There is no connection between the two, and it would be inaccurate to imply that he is prone to injuries or that he wasn’t at his best for the World Cup. The sources continued, “He successfully recovered from the back injury, has been in excellent shape, and it was just an unfortunate incident.”
It seems that the Baroda all-rounder was well enough to travel to the Rainbow Nation. But because they wanted him to be at his best for the ICC events, the BCCI did not want to hurry him onto the field for a bilateral series.
Furthermore, the insider made clear that Hardik is not the only person to go through a customized curriculum. Aside from Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul, these individuals also completed specially designed training programs.
It is not a novel concept. During their protracted injury layoffs, Shreyas, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL endured comparable programmes, and the regimen is created with their upcoming duties in mind. Say for KL, all factors were considered, including subcontinental heat and wicket-keeping. Similar to how Jasprit Bumrah was introduced to cricket gradually through Ireland T20Is, he went all out at the Asia Cup, the source continued.
Hardik has played a crucial role in the ‘Men in Blue’s’ white-ball setup. He will need to be crucial to India’s efforts to break their drought in ICC competitions at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.