Hardik Pandya will be considered for selection only when 100 per cent fit: Chetan Sharma

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector Chetan Sharma on Saturday gave an update on star all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s potential comeback to the Indian team. BCCI on Saturday (February 19) announced India’s Test and T20I squads for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka, which will start from February 24. The home side will play three T20Is followed by two Tests against the visitors.

While all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was named in both the Test and the T20I squads after making his comeback from injury, Hardik remains unavailable for selection. The all-rounder had opted for a break from cricket post the 2021 T20 World Cup, reportedly making himself unavailable for selection in the Indian team across formats.

Hardik Pandya will be immediately considered if he is fit: Chetan Sharma

Providing an update on his return, chief selector Sharma said Pandya will be considered for selection immediately, but only when he is 100% fit. He also said the selection panel cannot take a call on his comeback until they have proper confirmation of his fitness and bowling.

Addressing a virtual press conference on Saturday Sharma said, “Definitely, Hardik was a very important part of the Indian team. But now after the injuries, we’ll say that until he isn’t 100% fit, until we get that information that he’s ready to go, is bowling and is match fit… when that comes in front of us then definitely he’s an important player and we’ll consider him immediately,”

With Pandya missing, team India have given chances to the likes of Venkatesh Iyer and Deepak Hooda in T20Is for the all-rounder’s position. Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar have also grown in stature with impressive performances with both the bat and ball proving to be quite useful all-rounder for the Men in Blue.

Pandya will be seen leading the new franchise Gujrat Titans in the upcoming 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL), which is expected to get underway in the final week of March.