Highlights:
- Hardik Pandya is likely to skip the Sri Lanka series.
- He missed the many series due to his back injury.
- He was appointed as a Captain for Ahmedabad IPL Franchise.
- His plan to comeback in the IPL-2022 and eventually make the T20 World Cup team.
Hardik Pandya will skip the Sri Lanka T20I Series:
Hardik Pandya is likely to miss the Sri Lanka T20I series. The Sri Lankan cricket team is scheduled to tour India in February and March-2022 to play two test and three T20I matches. It has been scheduled to begin on February 25th and end on March 18th-2022.
Hardik dropped many series – Due to his back injury:
Hardik Pandya was dropped from the India squad following the T20 World Cup-2021 where he struggled with his back injury. He took an indefinite break to recover from his back injury. He has not played for India since the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year. He is recovering from persistent back issues as he missed the home series against New Zealand, the tour of South Africa and the West Indies series. After a clear message from the selectors, “regain full fitness and return to bowling”, Hardik decided to take some time off and informed the BCCI of his unavailability.
In the last four months, he has worked on his fitness and gave time for the injury to heal. While the expectations were that he will be back for the West Indies series, it hasn’t been the case. Instead, he has sets his eyes on IPL-2022 to make a return rather than the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in February-March.
Hardik Pandya – ‘I want to win the World Cup for the country’:
On January 31st-2022 in an interview, Hardik Pandya said that his plan is to make a comeback in the IPL-2022 and eventually make the T20 World Cup team.
Hardik Pandya said in an interview, “That’s the plan. My main aim is to be at my peak when the World Cup happens. All my training, planning, preparation is keeping the World Cup in mind. I want to win the World Cup for the country. It will make me really happy and proud. It is like an obsession with me. IPL will give me a very good preparatory platform for the World Cup but all the hard work ultimately is for the Indian team and the World Cup”.
Hardik Pandya appointed as a captain for Ahmedabad Franchise:
Ahmedabad IPL franchise officially announced their new captain named Hardik Pandya. He was a former Mumbai Indians all-rounder joined Ahmedabad. He was signed for Rs.15 crore as the Ahmedabad franchise, owned by CVC Capital. This is the first time that Hardik Pandya will lead a team in the IPL. He will also be the only player to represent home state IPL team as the captain.
Hardik Pandya said, “I’m Super excited to start. I assure you we will fight till the last ball”. He will take lessons from MS Dhoni, under whom he flourished as a player.
On January 22nd-2022, Ahmedabad and Lucknow franchises were asked to submit the list of their draft picks. With the three picks confirmed, Ahmedabad paid a total of Rs.38 crore and will now be left with Rs.52 crore IPL-2022 Auction purse.
Hardik Pandya learns captaincy especially from Mahi bhai or MS Dhoni:
Hardik Pandya said “I have learnt a lot from all the captains that I have played under, especially Mahi bhai. The way he groomed me, the way he gave me a lot of freedom, he wanted me to make mistakes and learn. In First Class cricket you always have a senior guiding you. Most cricketers come to the Indian team with that culture”.
Hardik Pandya – About:
Hardik Pandya had been an integral member of Mumbai Indians, after he was released by the five-time champions. He is an all-rounder who has played a total of 92 matches and scored 1476 runs at a strike rate of 153.91. He also picked up 42 wickets as well.
