Hardik Pandya is standing tall despite his travails

Hardik Pandya hasn’t had the best of times of late in his international career. He played in India’s five-match Test series against England and flattered to deceive. He tormented the Englishmen in the match at Trent Bridge in Nottingham with a five-wicket haul and a half-century. However, apart from that he strained to find his feet and was subsequently a recipient of severe criticism.

Questions surrounding his credentials as a genuine all-round cricketer in the longest format of the games sparked. Once during a press-conference, he severely lashed out at his critics pertaining to his comparisons with the legendary Kapil Dev.  The Baroda all-rounder was thereafter selected to play for India in the 2018 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A determined Hardik Pandya

The 24-year-old was rested for the first match against Hong Kong but came back into the eleven for the Men in Blue’s marquee clash against Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. However, fate had other plans for the cricketer. He bowled quite a few overs and in his fifth over, he collapsed on the pitch in his follow-through and grimaced in pain. Pandya was immediately treated with medical attention.

In the end, he was carried off on a stretcher. Thereafter, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) updated on his injury saying that he has suffered an acute lower back injury. Later, he was ruled out of the tournament, much to his agony. Rajasthan-born all-rounder Deepak Chahar was roped in as his replacement.

India are next scheduled to play Windies in a Test, ODI and T20I series in October and November, and Pandya would be desperate to recover at the earliest and hit the pitch for India. In the meantime, Pandya isn’t ready to drop the gun by any means. He took to Instagram, uploaded the picture and wrote, “Standing tall,”

Here is Hardik’s post

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