Hardik Pandya's Trainer Rubbishes Fitness Reports, Reveals Reason Behind Allrounder's Exclusion From India A Side

Contrary to the recent reports, Hardik Pandya’s personal trainer S Rajnikanth has said that the all-rounder is fit. On Saturday, there were news all around, stating that the allrounder is out of India A squad for the tour of New Zealand after failing the mandatory fitness tests. According to reports, his scores were well below the permissible range suggesting that he is far from being fit for international cricket.

He was then replaced into the India A squad by Tamil Nadu ace Vijay Shankar. However, Rajnikanth has rubbished the reports and has said that the India star is fit. He also insisted that there was no fitness test conducted by the BCCI. His trainer has taken the call that Pandya should continue with his training for now to test his bowling workload, but then, he should not be exposed to workload in international matches.

“He is 100% fit. There is no doubt about that. But I don’t want him to take the workload of back-to-back international matches. No fitness test has been conducted for Pandya yet, so there’s no question of him failing any test,” Rajnikanth told Times of India.

“But that’s not because he’s not fit or has failed any test. He’s fit, he can score a 20 in yoyo right now. He’s doing his 20 meters too, effortlessly. Why I pulled him out is because of his bowling. That is still work in progress – the bowling workload at the international level,” Rajnikanth added.

Well, if Hardik Pandya is indeed fit then he could be named in one of the limited-overs squad for the tour of New Zealand or in both and could train with the team. India will play five T20Is, three ODIs and three Tests in New Zealand and the allrounder will be itching to return to action. The squads for the upcoming tour of New Zealand will be announced on Sunday.

Hardik Pandya has not played international cricket since the T20I series against South Africa in September, and underwent back surgery in London in October. Consequently, he missed the series against South Africa, Bangladesh, West Indies and Sri Lanka. He will also miss the upcoming series against Australia.

Also Read: Setback For Sanju Samson As He Is Set To Be Dropped For New Zealand Tour: Report