Hardik Pandya has talked about his long break from the Indian squad following his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 heroics, where he guided Gujarat Titans (GT) to the title in their maiden season in the league. The Indian all-rounder posted an inspirational video ahead of his return to the national squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa.
The 28-year-old last appeared in the blues for India in the T20 World Cup in 2021. Hardik hasn't bowled much and remained unavailable for India's T20I squad for the subsequent home series against New Zealand, the West Indies, and Sri Lanka. A school of thought professed that the marquee all-rounder was dropped from the team because he couldn't bowl.
Hardik made a successful comeback to the game in IPL 2022 after being out for nearly six months, impressing with both bat and ball. In preparation for the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup in Australia, he has earned his place back in the Indian T20I team.
The former Mumbai Indians icon revealed in an inspirational video uploaded by the social media handle of the IPL 2022 champions, GT. It was a misconception that he was dropped from the Indian squad and that he had instead requested time away from the game.
"Lots of people don't know that I took off, it was my decision. A lot of misconceptions are that I was dropped. You only get dropped when you're available. Thankful to the BCCI that they allowed me to take such long breaks and didn't trouble or force me to come back, so that's commendable from their side. The old Hardik will be back," he said.
"I told someone as well that now that the fans are back, it is the right time for me to make a comeback. There are a lot of matches that I am going to play (for India) and the hard work that I did before coming into the IPL will come to use. Making sure that whatever I did for my franchise, I do for my country as well," the IPL-winning skipper added.
The Baroda cricketer performed with both bat and ball in the IPL 2022, scoring 487 runs and collecting eight wickets. He was named 'Player of the Match' in the final after taking three wickets and for his breathtaking spell of 3/17.
With some crucial games ahead in the run-up to the T20 World Cup, the all-rounder revealed how he intends to have the same impact on Team India.