Cycle between 2024 & 2026 T20 WCs is when the cricket board wants Hardik Pandya to stay at his best; NCA sets long-term goals in line with the ‘big picture’ in mind
Hardik Pandya last played for India in the ICC Cricket World 2023 fixture vs Bangladesh on October 19 where he picked up a ‘freak injury’ which ended his campaign. Team India played the waiting game with the premier all-rounder before ruling him out and naming a replacement on November 4.
The Men in Blue went on to play the final where they lost to Australia and Pandya was naturally crestfallen to miss what could have been the biggest game of his career yet.
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Whether he could have changed the complexion of the match is a discussion for a different day but it surely was the lowest of lows for him to be away from the action and no bilateral fixture can come close to the title clash of the multi-nation event.
From there on, keeping the larger picture, especially the crucial T20 World Cup cycle – 2024 (West Indies & US) and 2026 (India) editions – in mind, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and National Cricket Academy (NCA) got into a huddle and were in no mood to rush the cricketer back to action. The 30-year-old could have been made available for selection for the white-ball series vs South Africa or even the T20Is vs Afghanistan coming up next. However, the cricket board has kept the long-term goal in mind, allowing Pandya to look beyond the bilateral fixtures.
“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,” say those in the know.
There were attempts to get the all-rounder back on the park for the business end of the World Cup. Still, once that wasn’t possible, the NCA and BCCI decided to take the long road and the approach changed from a speedy recovery to a comprehensive rehabilitation.
“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,” sources added.
The 18-week high-performance programme has been curated exclusively for him, which Pandya is following right now. The cautiously curated routine by the NCA — where every single day until March has been designed to suit a purpose — is being monitored to see how his body is reacting to different approaches ranging from cardio, strength training, functional training, rest and recovery.
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Players like Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul had undergone similar personalised programmes during their injury lay-offs and it’s an approach the NCA has been taking to address long-term goals.
“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,” adds the source.
Pandya could have played the three T20Is vs Afghanistan well, but then it would have shifted focus from fitness to skill, which needn’t be a priority now. The current program, which focuses on his overall fitness standards, would have otherwise turned into a skill-based approach keeping match-driven objectives in mind.
Ever since the long lay-off due to the back injury, which required surgery in 2019, Pandya hasn’t missed a lot of cricket, except the rest here and there due to workload management. He successfully led Gujarat Titans in the IPL and played 16 and 15 games respectively in 2022 and 2023. This year alone, India’s premier all-rounder has led the side in three T20I series vs Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies, and hasn’t faced any injury concern except the freak incident during the World Cup in Pune.
India have played 55 T20Is since June 2022 and Pandya has featured in 38 of those. When it comes to the ODIs, the all-rounder has played 23 out of 50 games played by India. He has been one of the regulars in the T20I format for the country.
