A BCCI official has asserted that Hardik Pandya won’t be taking up his duties with the ball for India come the ICC T20 World Cup 2021
Hardik Pandya’s status over the last couple of years has remained an enigma.
Suffering from a lengthy injury, the all-rounder returned to India’s setup as a batsman. The player was withheld from bowling during India’s tour of Sri Lanka with BCCI persistently talking about a need to manage the player’s workload ahead of the T20 World Cup this year.
However, come phase 2 of the Indian Premier League 2021 and Pandya was once again absent with the ball. The Mumbai Indians player wasn’t asked to take up his customary overs with Mi refraining from giving him the ball.
Hardik Pandya To Not Bowl At The T20 World Cup 2021
Question marks continued to prevail Pandya’s status with the BCCI offering no clarity on where the player stood in terms of his fitness. However, as India replaced Axar Patel with Shardul Thakur in their T20 World Cup 2021, it became clearer that the move was opted for in a bid to compensate for Pandya’s inability to bowl.
The BCCI has now affirmed that reports of Pandya not being asked to bowl at the impending world cup are true. The BCCI had taken over Hardik’s medical reports from MI ensuing which the governing council had decided it was prudent to not ask Pandya who remains an injury concern to send down his overs at the tournament.
“It’s clear, he (Hardik Pandya) can’t bowl. He will purely play as a batsman in the World Cup. By the later stages of the World Cup he may recover & can bowl but for now it won’t be possible. We feel sorry for Axar Patel but for the sake of team balance he had to make way for Shardul”,confirmed one of the top BCCI official.
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