After having played his last match during the Asia Cup, India premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya is fully fit, and has reached Cuttack, ahead of the first T20I between India and South Africa on December 9. The 32-year-old, who had suffered a quadriceps injury during his last tournament, proved his match fitness by playing two matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he even scored 77 for Baroda vs Punjab.
Hardik Pandya bowls full tilt
On Sunday, he trained alone at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack ahead of Tuesday’s match. In fact, he had reached the city on Saturday itself, while the Indian team is still arriving in batches, to the next venue, from Vizag. As per a report in RevSportz, Hardik went through an elaborate warm-up, including stretching and running drills.
Support staff member Nuwan and Dayanand Garani joined him during his training. The report further suggested, that though he did feel some discomfort while bowling, he did go full tilt. 20 minutes of bowling brought a 20 min massage session too for Hardik. As far as his batting training is concerned, he looked in top form, carrying forward from where he left in SMAT.
Match ready after SMAT stint
Meanwhile, the Indian team will have their final practice session in Cuttack on Monday afternoon, while the Proteas are expected to train in the evening. After a 1-2 drubbing in the ODIs, the Visitors would look to make a comeback in the five-match series. Earlier, India had lost the Tests 0-2.
Indian squad for SA T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain)*, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar.
