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Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been in the news off late due to his injury concerns. In a big update, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has become a concern for the management, seeing the T20 World Cup next year. Pandya, who injured his ankle during India’s match against Bangladesh at the recently concluded ODI World Cup 2023, led to him missing out on the remainder of the tournament.
While he missed the five-match T20I series against Australia, which the Suryakumar Yadav-led side won 4-1 at home, Hardik was also ruled out of India’s upcoming tour of South Africa, starting December 10. But, keeping in mind the T20 World Cup 2024, set to be jointly hosted in the USA and Caribbean, the BCCI and the National Cricket Academy (NCA) have reportedly designed an 18-week programme for Hardik Pandya, which will keep him out of the key events.
“We speak of workload management. This precisely what is it 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 was quoted by News18.
It is to be noted that if Hardik Pandya begins his 18-week long programme with BCCI and NCA, he will be out of the picture until March 2024 and will return only in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League. Players like Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul had also undergone similar programme during their injury layoffs.
