IND vs NZ LIVE: Hardik Pandya bowls in the nets, but won’t against New Zealand: Hardik Pandya is continuing to work on his fitness as Team India prepare to face off against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup. The Mumbai Indians star has struggled with an injury which has hindered his ability to bowl, but the all-rounder has had a couple of bowling sessions in the build-up to the do-or-die clash in Dubai. And while Hardik Pandya bowled in the nets, it remains a part of his rehabilitation and is not ready to bowl yet in the T20 World Cup.
IND vs NZ LIVE: Hardik Pandya continues injury rehabilitation, bowls again in the nets but ‘not to bowl against New Zealand’
Having warmed up with the rest of the team, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya continued to work on strengthening his back on Saturday as he underwent an extended session of fitness drills under the watchful eyes of physio Nitin Patel and assistant strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai.
And in a positive development, he bowled at the nets once again as the team management is hoping to have his services with the ball at the earliest in the T20 World Cup. Earlier, even as the rest of the players went back to fine-tuning their skills at the nets, Hardik continued to do strengthening exercises. India would love to have his services with the ball going into the must-win game against New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Talking to the media on the eve of the game against New Zealand, skipper Virat Kohli said the all-rounder’s shoulder is fine when asked about his fitness status. “Hardik is fine, if you’re talking about the blow on the shoulder, he’s absolutely fine,” he said. While Hardik is back bowling in the nets, the Indian captain refrained suggestions that the all-rounder was fit enough to roll his arm over during the game.
Speaking on the sixth-bowler issue, Kohli said in his press conference, “It’s very important. It could be from Hardik. When he is fit enough to bowl, he will give us those two overs. If we had bowled first against Pakistan, I could have bowled too. But we didn’t get the situation. We could not get those extra few runs. “
IND vs NZ LIVE: Hardik Pandya continues injury rehabilitation, bowls again in the nets but ‘not to bowl against New Zealand’
Kohli has also backed his bowlers to do well in the game against the Kiwis and refused to single out any bowler for the failure against Pakistan.
“I don’t want to single out any individuals. I think as a bowling group we failed to pick up wickets. And we understand that can happen in the sport. It’s not a guarantee that every time you take the field you won’t be able to pick up wickets. These are the same guys that have been doing the job for us for a long period of time. We understand how things went and where they went wrong.
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