'From 68 kgs to now 75 kgs' - Hardik Pandya gains 7 kgs weight in three months ahead of IPL 2020

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been away from cricket from September last year due to back injury. He last played for India in a T20I against South Africa and has been recovering from injury since then. He was due to make a comeback in the recently New Zealand tour but failed to prove his fitness. However, Hardik is back now and is featuring in the ongoing DY Patil T20 tournament in Mumbai.

It hasn’t been easy going for the 26-year-old as he underwent surgery for an acute lower-back injury and was ruled out of the action for five months. But it has taken more time for him to completely recover and the Baroda lad has worked extremely hard to regain his fitness.

Rather Hardik Pandya has gained a whopping seven kg weight through sheer training and the man himself shared a picture of the same on his official Instagram handle on Tuesday. “From 68 kgs to now 75 kgs in three months. Non-stop effort, no shortcuts, #StrongerAndBetter,” Pandya’s motivational caption read.

Here’s the post:

When will Hardik Pandya make India comeback?

Meanwhile, the fans are awaiting Hardik Pandya’s national comeback for long now. India missed him during the recently concluded New Zealand tour where they lost the ODI and Test series by 3-0 and 2-0 margin respectively. With the all-rounder now up and running and it also proving his match fitness in the T20 tournament, he might just return for the upcoming South Africa series which is set to commence on March 12.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya shone in his comeback playing for Reliance 1 against Bank of Baroda. He came out to bat at number four and smacked 38 runs off just 25 deliveries with four huge maximums. Moreover, he also picked three crucial wickets with the ball summing up his excellent day on the field.

Hardik will be finally hoping to make a return to the national side soon and after his recent appearances also paves his way to return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) if not for the South Africa series. The all-rounder will be important for India in the upcoming World Cup which is set to take place in Australia in October this year.