Yet to hit the delivery stride this IPL, Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, will remain absent as a bowler even in the tournament final versus Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday (November 10), said skipper Rohit Sharma.
Hardik, who has returned to cricket through this IPL after a lengthy layoff post back surgery last year, is "not comfortable" bowling yet as he also carries some "niggle" within, the captain further updated.
"He is not comfortable at the moment to bowl you know, and we have left all the decision on him," Rohit was quoted as saying by PTI.
"If he feels comfortable he will be happy to bowl, but at the moment, he is not feeling comfortable, he has got some niggle going."
"So I mean it would have been great to have him bowl but, throughout the season, we have given him that cushion of being in that comfort zone and making sure that he takes care of his body and he has done that really well," he added.
Keeping in mind his importance to the side as a specialist power-hitter in the middle-order, Rohit said, the MI team management has kept a regular check on Hardik's fitness while also managing his workload in training.
"We have had his assessment every three-four games and we have spoken to him about what he wants to do."
"So we don't want to put that pressure on individuals where we are expecting something from him and he is not able to do it and the team morale goes down, we don't want that situation."
"You know Hardik to us is very important as a player and his batting has been really really key for us, making it to the final. So as long as he bats I am happy," he added.
