My Fitness Has Gone To The Next Level During The Break: Hardik Pandya

India allrounder Hardik Pandya seems to have made the most of his absence from cricket field. Hardik Pandya has not played any international game since India’s semifinal exit at the World Cup. The India star missed the entire tour of West Indies due to an injury. It was a much-needed break for Pandya after a hectic season that saw him feature extensively in the Indian Premier League and the World Cup.

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He, however, did not use the break to switch off and enjoy and instead used it to work on his fitness. In fact, the Baroda star trained twice a day for the last month. He also flew to Baroda to work on his skills as it was raining in Mumbai. Pandya is now gearing up for the upcoming series against South Africa and is raring to go.

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India will play three T20Is and as many Tests against the Proteas and Pandya will be an integral part of both the teams. The allrounder has done exceedingly well in recent times and will be looking to do the same in his comeback series.

“It was important for me (the break) as the IPL was long and then the World Cup followed and I had a good run in both the tournaments. So, I was looking to give it my best and that required my body to take some rest as precaution is better than cure and that is when the call was taken by the team management that I come back fully fit for the South Africa series,” Hardik Pandya told IANS.

“Neither the team management nor I wish that I get injured. The rest has helped me a lot and my fitness has gone to the next level. I started doing pilates and that has helped me a lot. This isn’t something very usual between cricketers. So, that is why I wanted to see how it works and it has worked really well. This last one month, I trained twice a day. It was important that I try something new to improve my back. It was important for me and my game to take this break,” he added.

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He also explained the reason behind flying to Baroda, saying: “It was raining in Mumbai so I decided in two hours flat that I will go back home and prepare for the series against South Africa.”

The T20I series against the Proteas, meanwhile, will get underway on September 15 in Dharamsala.