IND Vs AFG: Watch: Hardik Pandya Working Hard In The Gym To Regain Fitness As He Gears Up For Comeback

Indian All-Rounder Hardik Pandya took to Instagram to and uploaded a video to give a slight sneak peek at the amount of work he is putting behind the scenes in the gym as he tries to regain fitness and come back to his playing ways for team India in what is going to be a very important year ahead of him.

Hardik Pandya has been out of all cricketing actions since twisting his ankle during India’s Cricket World Cup league stage fixture against Bangladesh, exactly a month before India lost the WC final against Australia. In his very first over of the match, Pandya while trying to stop a straight drive from Litton Das, slid onto the pitch and injured his right ankle on the way.

After feeling discomfort on his ankle, Hardik Pandya was forced to forfeit not just the over, the match but the entire tournament itself. He was rushed to the NCA in Bengaluru where he underwent a few scans before hitting the nets 24 hours later, hoping he would be fit for India’s next match.

He was under the supervision of NCA officials and was asked to increase the intensity and speed of his run gradually so that he wouldn’t further damage the injured area. After bowling 3 deliveries successfully, it was in the 4th delivery that Hardik Pandya expressed his discomfort and pain, before the BCCI named Prasidh Krishna as his replacement.

 

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A post shared by Hardik Himanshu Pandya (@hardikpandya93)

Following the conclusion of the World Cup, Pandya had to miss the T20I series against Australia and the white ball phase of India’s tour to South Africa where he was supposed to captain the men in blue. There were rumors on various outlets about Pandya not returning before the ICC T20 World Cup later this year but an internal BCCI source later claimed that Hardik Pandya is going to return in time before India welcomes Afghanistan for a 3-match T20I series later this month.

Hardik Pandya Seen Doing Strength Training As He Aims To Attain Full Recovery

In a recently uploaded video on his Instagram handle, Hardik Pandya can be seen hustling in the gym along with his trainer. He was seen doing strength and muscle training of certain muscle groups of his upper as well as lower body.

Pandya can be seen doing a variety of back rows as well as chest and shoulder exercises. He was also training his calf muscles by placing heavy weights over his thighs and putting pressure on his toes. His 3-year-old son Agastya was also seen having light-hearted moments with Pandya in between his Gym sessions and he captioned the video, “Progress Everyday” with victory signs.

Afghanistan Series Just The Starter For Hardik Pandya’s Test As Captain In 2024

In context, 2024 is going to be very crucial for Hardik Pandya the captain. The T20 series against Afghanistan will be a starting pack and will serve as a dry-run for some very important assignments to come. Up first will be the IPL where he is returning to the Mumbai Indians after 2 years of absence with the franchise rewarding him with Captaincy upon his return.

Then later on in June, Hardik Pandya’s toughest task yet as a captain awaits in the form of the ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, which is going to be a 20-team affair. More teams will mean more competition and it will be interesting to see how Pandya deals with the amount of expectation and pressure he has over his head.

The 1st T20 against Afghanistan will take place on 11th January at Mohali before the Holkar and M. Chinnaswamy Stadium hosts the 2nd and 3rd T20 on 14th and 17th respectively.