India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been struggling with injuries for a major part of his career. His long battle with back injury, which he had incurred in 2018, left his Test career hanging in balance. Upon return, he had restricted his bowling role in white-ball cricket which had played a crucial role in India’s forgettable group-stage exit in 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. And although he resumed his role as an all-rounder after months of rehab post that tournament, Hardik incurred an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup campaign which eventually exposed India’s weakness only to be exploited by Australia in the final.
There were talks about Hardik’s return to the Indian team in the knockout stages of the ODI World Cup with the all-rounder having reportedly shown positive improvements during his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. However, he was entirely ruled out from the tournament later. He later missed the five-match T20I series against Australia that ended on Sunday and has not been named in the all-format tour of South Africa as well.
Amid Hardik’s struggles with injuries, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja took a brutal dig at the all-rounder calling him a “rare talent” for being rarely seen on the field.
When the anchor called Hardik a rare talent for being a fast-bowling all-rounder, Jadeja, speaking to Sports Tak, chuckled before saying: “You did not understand the meaning. He is a rare talent and is rarely seen on the ground. It is very rare and rightly so.”
Despite his injury woes, and the uncertainty over his comeback, Hardik has managed to successfully return to his former IPL franchise Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2024 IPL season. After being released by MI in 2022, Hardik was roped in by Gujarat Titans, whom he led to back-to-back finals, while lifting the trophy in their inaugural season.
It was on the back of his stellar captaincy outing for GT did the all-rounder gain the leadership in Team India as well where remained the unofficial skipper in Rohit Sharma’s stead in the T20I format. In fact, Hardik remains in contention to lead the Indian side in the 2024 T20 World Cup as well.
