A fit-again Hardik Pandya chose to skip the training session ahead of Monday’s T20 series start against South Africa at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, but Shubman Gill marked his comeback with a powerful two-hour hit.
After a painful neck spasm and 24 days of recuperation and rehabilitation, the Indian Test and ODI captain Gill appeared fully recovered.
Before entering the nets, where he encountered both pace and spin, including spells from Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, and even Abhishek Sharma, the fiery left-handed opener who decided not to pad up on the day, he started with precise fielding and catching drills.
Gill moved to the middle after having a lengthy conversation with head coach Gautam Gambhir close to the center wicket. He then unleashed a series of bold strokes that frequently flew into the galleries.
Nearly 5,000 spectators, who had free access, cheered as Gill went out and whacked balls into galleries, occasionally overpowering power hitter Shivam Dube during their rotating practice session.
Even though wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson would only get to bat in the middle order, the Kerala player also took the first hit at the side nets with Gill, suggesting that he might start ahead of Jitesh Sharma in the series opener. Gill was deserving of the opening position, as Suryakumar has already stated.
“Shubman had played before him in the Sri Lanka series. So, he deserved to take that spot. But we gave Sanju opportunities.
“He was ready to bat at any number. Which actually is good to see any player being very flexible batting from 3 to 6 anywhere. So, that is one thing which I have told all the batters. Other than openers, everyone has to be flexible.”
The roughly two-and-a-half-hour gathering was enlivened by Gill’s return, but Hardik’s absence generated considerable conversation.
The all-rounder skipped the team’s main practice “as a precautionary measure” after arriving early and training alone for over an hour at Barabati on Sunday. During the media conference that coincidentally took place prior to India’s practice, Suryakumar declared Hardik to be “fit and fine,” dispelling any new worries about his injuries.
After recovering from a left quadricep injury sustained during the Asia Cup, Hardik made a spectacular comeback in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, opening the bowling for a full four overs (1/52) and slamming a 42-ball 77 not out for Baroda in a 223 chase against Punjab. As instructed by the BCCI, he was removed from a planned match against Haryana in order to check in early for the Cuttack T20I.
Given his history of injuries, his workload will be closely monitored throughout India’s ten Twenty20 Internationals before to the World Cup in February, and it is highly likely that he won’t play every match.
Before beginning their championship defense against the USA on February 7 at Wankhede, India will play five matches against South Africa, five more against New Zealand, and one official warm-up.
Suryakumar emphasized Hardik’s continued indispensability, by saying, “What you saw in the Asia Cup when he was bowling the new ball, he opened a lot of options, a lot of combinations for us. That’s what he brings. His experience in big ICC games will count a lot. His presence gives a good balance to the side.”
India’s plans going into the World Cup still heavily rely on Hardik’s adaptability, taking the new ball, giving them the buffer to field an additional spinner, and completing games while Suryakumar is still finding his best form.
Over the course of the five-match series, India will have three complete training sessions.
