Will Hardik Pandya Pass the Test
Hardik Pandya (skipper of Gujarat Titans), who hasn't played any cricket since the T20 World Cup last October-November due to his fitness issues, will be at the NCA for a few days before he re-joins the Gujarat Titans for the upcoming season of TATA IPL 2022. He is currently undergoing quarantine and will probably start practice at Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera from Thursday, 18th March 2022.
Image credit: pia.images.co.uk Will Hardik Pandya be back in IPL action
Away from the game for a long time
The 28-year-old has now been absent from international cricket for quite a long period. He is neither a part of the test squad nor features in India's white ball game. Due to uncertainty over his fitness, the fast-bowling all-rounder has been dropped from Grade A to Grade C by BCCI in the latest central contract list, which lowers his earning from INR 5 crore to 1 crore.
Fitness test before IPL
Being a centrally-contracted player, Hardik Pandya's participation in IPL 2022 is now subject to clearance of fitness tests to be held under the guidance and supervision of NCA medical staff.
"Hardik will be at the NCA for the next two days and appear in the various fitness tests. He is a centrally contracted cricketer and has not played any cricket since T20 World Cup in UAE," a BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI. "He would need to pass the fitness test as it has been mandatory for some time now. Last year, even Shreyas Iyer had appeared for a fitness test post shoulder surgery before playing IPL," he added.
Hardik Pandya is likely to be approved to captain the Gujarat Titans in the upcoming league but his role might be restricted to the pure batter. The final decision about his ability to bowl and whether he bowls or not is no more in his hands. NCA experts will purely decide it.
A senior BCCI official told InsideSport website, "The NCA physios and VVS Laxman will decide the fitness test program. But as the selectors have made it clear, he will have to bowl a minimum of 10 overs and pass the mandatory Yo-yo test as per set parameters. It's not specially designed for him. But all cricketers do need to pass the fitness tests. For the centrally contracted players, it is mandatory before IPL,"
Is Hardik Pandya still an all-rounder or just a batsman?
Following the decision taken by BCCI, Indian cricket fans came in support of the decision that the board is treating him like any other player and not exempting him from clearing tests. During Gujarat Titans' jersey launch, Hardik Pandya kept cards close to his chest, stating that his bowling would be a "surprise".
There is some uncertainty about whether India will see Hardik Pandya's evolution as a batsman or if the selectors will give their all-rounder back to them after he clears his fitness test.