IND vs AFG: "Hardik Pandya Puts His Body Through A Lot..." - Allan Donald Worried About All-rounder

Former South African pacer Allan Donald in a recent interview expressed his worries about Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya for the amount of load he puts on his body, each time he takes the run up to bowl. Pandya has been out of action since sliding his right ankle during a Cricket World Cup group stage match against Bangladesh on October 19th, exactly a month before India lost to Australia in the final.

Hardik Pandya was forced to pull out of the match against Bangladesh after bowling just 3 deliveries in his 1st over. He bowled a full-length (3rd) delivery to Litton Das who responded with a straight drive as the ball went darting towards the other end.

In an attempt to stop it from reaching the boundary, Hardik Pandya stretched his right leg but ended up sliding his ankle over the ball. It did look a little awkward at first but not many were anticipating it to be a major issue. He was then taken for scans and further check-ups after which he was sent straight to NCA the next day.

The results of the scan showed no such worries and Pandya was ready to hit the nets. He was being watched over by a few NCA officials and was advised to increase his intensity ball by ball instead of going all in. After feeling no pain in the first 3 balls, it was in the 4th delivery that Hardik complained about a bit of pain on his ankle and as a result, the BCCI ruled him out of the tournament.

His return was slated for December as he was supposed to lead India’s T20I team in the month-long South African tour. However, he could not attain full fitness by then with Suryakumar Yadav captaining the team in his absence.

As of now, Hardik Pandya is working hard in the gym for recovery and his comeback will happen through IPL 2024 but there is very little clarity on that as well.

Allan Donald Blames Biomechanics Of Hardik Pandya For His Lengthy Lay-Offs

While speaking to Sportstar, Allan Donald reasoned the Biomechanics or body movement of Hardik Pandya as one of the major reasons behind his injury lay-offs. By that, Donald means to say that Pandya’s bowling action puts too much pressure on his body and claims that using Biomechanics from an early age helps in avoiding these things.

Donald also believes that Hardik Pandya spending a lot of time in the Gym could also be another reason for his constant duel with injuries.

“We do lots of video analysis on young kids when they come through the system, to make sure that biomechanically, they are absolutely fine, and they’re not going to get hurt or injured seriously. So, doing the correct screening from a young age is incredibly important,” Donald said.

“I think Hardik puts his body through a lot every single delivery. I mean, it’s not a nice thing and also one needs to look at how strong these guys are these days. Hardik has spent a lot of time away from the game, building his body back up. And strength and conditioning is a major, major factor these days,” Donald concluded.