‘Your support keeps me going’ – A grateful Hardik Pandya after his comeback to competitive cricket

Hardik Pandya hasn’t had the best of times in the last few months or so. The Indian all-rounder played a crucial role in the 2019 World Cup where he delivered with both bat and ball. Thereafter, he played in the home T20Is against South Africa. But then, injury turned detrimental to his career. Ever since, he has missed quite a significant amount of cricket due to his travails.

However, after almost seven months, the 26-year-old eventually got to make his comeback. The sparkling youngster played in the DY Patil T20 Cup, 2020, representing the Reliance 1 in their match against Bank of Baroda. In that game, Hardik looked in full flow and scored 38 runs with the help of four colossal sixes in the stands. Pandya didn’t flatter to deceive with the cherry either.

Hardik showing his class

He picked up three wickets and guided his side to a 25-run victory. From how he has made his return to competitive cricket, the national selectors may be tempted to pick him for India’s upcoming ODI series against South Africa. The opening game of the series is scheduled to be played on March 12 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium (HPCA) in Dharamshala.

In the meantime, Hardik uploaded three pictures on Instagram, expressing gratitude to the constant support he has been getting over the past few months. He captioned the pictures and wrote, “So good to be back out there on the field where I belong, Your support keeps me going,”

Here is Hardik Pandya’s post on Instagram

View this post on Instagram

So good to be back out there on the field where I belong 😊 Your support keeps me going 🙏

A post shared by Hardik Pandya (@hardikpandya93) on Mar 2, 2020 at 8:31am PST

Earlier this year in January, Pandya was picked for India A’s series against New Zealand A. To his agony, he didn’t pass the fitness test and his name was withdrawn from the series. It also remains to be seen if he turns out for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League.

Pandya is also being deemed to play a crucial role in India’s campaign in the men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. In Hardik’s absence, India have tried out quite a few options in the all-rounder’s category, but none has been able to make a significant impact.