Hardik Pandya aiming to be fully fit to bowl in T20 World Cup

Hardik Pandya’s non-contribution with the ball for the Indian team impacted the combination for captain Virat Kohli, especially in the limited-overs format. Everyone knows the fact that the Indian skipper prefers playing five bowlers in the team. Since returning from a back injury, Pandya has not bowled in the domestic competitions as well as in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Mumbai Indians.

Pandya is in news due to his selection for the white-ball tour to Sri Lanka starting in the month of July. The all-rounder sounded optimistic ahead of the team’s tour to Island nation and has backed himself to get back to bowling in full swing by the time ICC T20 World Cup 2021 gets underway in October.

The importance of the Baroda player returning as a seam-bowling allrounder in the Indian team will give Kohli enough options at his disposal. Pandya can be used as a cover-up option too if one of the bowlers has an off day. Speaking on the TOI Sportscast, the 27-year-old opened up about his bowling plans in the upcoming matches.

“For me, I want to make sure, and I will be able to, that I bowl in all the games of the (T20) World Cup. I am just trying to be smart and make sure that I don’t miss that. My full focus is on the World Cup,” Hardik explained.

Hardik Pandya wants to play with 100% commitment as a seam-bowling allrounder

Hardik Pandya underwent surgery in 2019 and since then his back has not supported him to bowl long overs. In fact, Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians captain, has restrained from giving Pandya any overs in the last two years of the IPL. But, the allrounder is now looking to make an impact with the ball too, and hoping to continue bowling with the same intensity as before.

“Yes, on the bowling front, what matters is how fit I am. Even after my surgery, I didn’t drop my pace. My bowling is related to my fitness. The fitter I get, the better it comes out. Whenever I play, I don’t want to play at 50%. (When) I play, I will play at 100%,” Hardik concluded.