Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya opened up about the unfortunate "freak injury" that he suffered during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which kept him out of action for months.
The incident occurred during India's World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in October.
The Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper suffered the injury while attempting to prevent a boundary using his right leg, which led to a slip and an ankle twist.
Well, Pandya recently claimed that his eagerness to return to action prolonged his recovery process, saying his efforts to rush his return for the semi-final and final of the ODI World Cup 2023 only worsened the situation.
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He also revealed that he attained match fitness when the T20I series against Afghanistan was just starting at home. Notably, Pandya then missed the T20I series against Australia and Afghanistan at home, as well as India’s South Africa. He will be returning to competitive action in the IPL in 2024.
Hardik Pandya said in the MI’s pre-season press conference: “My injury in the World Cup was a freak injury. It had nothing to do with my past injuries and it had nothing to do with my fitness. It was just I tried to stop the ball and twisted my ankle. I could have been back in one and a half months.”
He added, “But when I got injured my injury from Day 1 showed that I would be out of the World Cup. Playing for India has always been special. We pushed 10 days we knew it was a difficult uphill task to reach and kind of be fit for the semi-final or final. When we pushed I kind of triggered my injury more and my injury became a little longer.”
Pandya revealed that he got his fitness when India played their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan but his absence extended as there were no games to play.
"When I got fit the Afghanistan series just started, I have been fit since then but there were no games to play," he added.
Notably, MI will be taking on Gujarat Titans in their first game in the upcoming IPL 2024 on March 24 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
(With PTI Inputs)
