Hardik Pandya
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is looking to regain fitness and get fit for bowling, honed his skills with the ball ahead of the first T20I against England on Friday. Since his back surgery in 2019, Hardik has featured primarily as a batsman in limited-overs cricket.
The Baroda all-rounder was last seen in action in the white-ball leg of the Australia tour where he scored 268 runs at 89.33 and even bagged the Player of the Series award in the T20I series.
Hardik, however, didn't feature in any Test in the recently-concluded series against England where the hosts emerged as 3-1 winners, sealing a spot in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in June.
Hardik last played a Test match for India in the England tour of 2018. Prolonged back injuries have kept Hardik out of the Test squad, with skipper Virat Kohli clarifying before the Border-Gavaskar series that the all-rounder can only be included when he can bowl as well.
Meanwhile, in a video shared by Hardik on Twitter, he can be seen bowling in full throttle towards the end of the clip. "Preparation done. Can’t wait to get on the field on the 12th," he wrote.
Currently in Ahmedabad with the Indian contingent, Hardik is set to return to the Playing XI with the shortest format of the game. The newly renamed Narendra Modi Stadium will host the entirety of the five-match T20 International (T20I) series against England.
