Indian allrounder and Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya has checked into the National Cricket Academy to prove his fitness before the Indian Premier League. A standard operating procedure for the Board of Control for Cricket in India, any player who has been out due to injury has to get a full clearance from the apex body before taking on a new assignment.
PTI quoted a BCCI official on the matter who revealed that Hardik will be at the NCA for two days appearing for various fitness tests. “He is a centrally contracted cricketer and has not played any cricket since T20 World Cup in UAE,” the official said.
The news agency noted that it is not yet known whether Hardik can bowl full tilt or not, but he did have bowling practice in the pre-IPL camp organised by the Gujarat Titans. Hardik has played as a pure batsman for Indian as well as Mumbai Indians but the impact has not been the same since his injury.
Pandya was recently present at the launch of Gujarat Titan's jersey launch. When asked about if he has attained full fitness to bowl or not, Pandya chose to escape the question stating that it will be a surprise.
Pandya will be captaining an IPL team for the first time in his career. The Gujarat Titans have amassed a strong line up that includes the likes of Rashid Khan, World Cup winner Matthew Wade, Lockie Ferguson among others. The team is expected to do well than Lucknow Super Giants, who are the other new franchise in the new 10-team Indian Premier League.