Hardik Pandya bowls in nets ahead of T20I series against England

Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has avoided bowling in competitive games since returning to to action last year. He missed almost the entire home season in 2019 due to his persistent injury. Pandya had to undergo surgery in October that year and finally returned to action in February through the DY Patil T20 Cup.

Prior to that, he was named in India’s squad for the New Zealand tour but his name was later withdrawn as he was still not match fit. The ace all-rounder would have made his much-anticipated return for India in March 2020 after being named in the squad for the home ODI series against South Africa. However, the series could not go ahead because of the pandemic.

Pandya finally returned to high-profile cricket in September last year through the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has been in action since then. He donned the Indian jersey after more than a year when the team toured Australia. Pandya was a part of the ODI and T20I teams. Recently, he was a part of India’s squad for the Test series against England too but did not play any game.

And while it has been a while since the fast-bowling all-rounder returned to action, he has not started bowling in international cricket yet. Pandya did not bowl at all in the IPL and only bowled four overs during the second ODI in Australia when the team was short on bowling resources.

Hardik Pandya bowls in nets

It looks like Hardik Pandya would finally resume bowling for India in full flow in the upcoming T20I series against England. The five-match series is scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad from March 12. Ahead of the series-opener on Friday, Pandya took to Twitter to post a video of his preparation. In the video, he could be seen batting as well as bowling.

Pandya was not looking in any discomfort while bowling as he wrote: “Preparation done. Can’t wait to get on the field on the 12th.”

India will be looking to continue their winning momentum in the T20Is. The hosts will have their confidence high after the thumping 3-1 win in the Test series. India have been in good form since returning to action after the forced break due to the pandemic. Before thrashing England at home, they had won the T20I and Test series  in Australia.