New Delhi: Hardik Pandya didn’t turn up for either of the two afternoon practice sessions of Mumbai Indians ahead of their Saturday match against Delhi Capitals. Understandably, the Mumbai Indians captain doesn’t want to push his injury-prone body during the gruelling two-month IPL schedule. Hardik, however, is fighting another battle besides planning the campaign for the five-time champions. TOI understands he has been working overtime for the last four months to assure the Indian team management and the selectors that he is ready to bowl his full quota of 10 overs in ODI games beyond the IPL. India’s preparation for the ODI World Cup in Oct-Nov 2027 will be in full swing after the IPL. While announcing the team for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand on Jan 3, Indian cricket board (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia mentioned that Hardik was not cleared to bowl 10 overs in a match by the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE). The BCCI release also claimed that Hardik was being preserved for the subsequent T20 World Cup. Interestingly, five days later, Hardik bowled 10 overs for figures of 3/66 in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Chandigarh. TOI has learnt that Hardik had reached out to the selectors and the Indian team management in January itself. The team management has conveyed to him that they would prefer his availability to bowl 10 overs leading up to the World Cup in South Africa next year. It must be noted that Hardik suffered a quadriceps injury before the Asia Cup final in September and made a comeback in T20I cricket on Dec 9 in the series against South Africa. Sources told TOI that Hardik had communicated his desire to play in both white-ball formats, but the BCCI took a conservative approach with the T20 World Cup in mind. “Hardik is expected to play a big role in the ODI setup since the World Cup will be played on fast and bouncy pitches in South Africa. He can lend the perfect balance. But he has to convince the selectors and the team management that he will be available to bowl 10 overs. He may not be required to do so in every match. The captain may end up bowling him for 6-7 overs in most matches. But he should be available if the captain needs more from him,” a BCCI source told TOI. “The selectors are also looking at other seam-bowling options. Nitish Kumar Reddy has increased his bowling workload in domestic cricket as well,” the source added. Hardik has been putting in the hard yards at the CoE and beyond. He shuttles between Mumbai and Baroda to train with his own dedicated team. “Hardik has been increasing his workload. He has worked on his action to bowl in-swingers as well without compromising on pace. That’s why he has been entrusted to bowl with the new ball in T20s. He feels his body is ready to cope with the rigours of bowling 10 overs in ODIs. He understands his body well enough and is working towards staying fit to bowl 10 overs,” the source claimed.
