Before the world was brought to a rare standstill by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all-rounder Hardik Pandya was about to make his comeback into the Indian team after a lengthy back injury sabbatical against South Africa in an ODI series in March which was later suspended. 

The time the whole rehabilitation process taken by Hardik to get back on his feet following a surgery late last year, has also made the cricketer wary of more injuries and his workload, as he has virtually ruled out a return to the Test side, understanding his overall importance to the white-ball set-up. 

Read Also: "Ricky Ponting is like father figure," Hardik Pandya reveals his rapport with ex-MI coach

"I see myself as a back-up seamer for sure. (But) after my back surgery, I don't know, playing Test cricket right now will be a challenge," Hardik told Cricbuzz, having not played a Test match since the 2018 tour of England. 

"If I was a Test player and didn't have the game in white-ball cricket, I could go now and risk my back in Tests but I know my importance in white-ball cricket."

"It has happened that I played Tests and then didn't do well in ODIs and T20s because my plus point is my energy," he added. 

Hardik has played 11 Tests so far and scored 538 runs at 31.29, apart from taking 17 wickets at 31.05. 

The 26-year-old first went down with a back injury while playing the 2018 Asia Cup in Dubai where he was stretchered off the field. The pain was so bad that Hardik felt his career is over. 

"I genuinely thought that my career is over because I'd never seen anyone being stretchered off," he said. "I was knocked out for 10 minutes, after that the pain never went down."

"What happens to me is that my body goes into recovery mode straight away... Asia Cup was anyway going to be my last series before being rested but then the injury happened."

Apart from injuries, the flamboyant cricketer has also had to deal with controversies. He was called back from the 2018-19 tour of Australia following his misogynist remarks on a popular tv show alongside teammate KL Rahul. Both players were suspended for their inappropriate comments, but were later allowed to resume with their careers on abiding by BCCI Ombudsman call to make them pay a hefty fine. 

"I just became wiser after the incident. I have made mistakes in my life and the best part in me is I accept them. If I would not have accepted the mistake, one more TV show would've been on the cards," said Hardik. 

"That phase no longer bothers me because we as a family accepted it. What hurt me the most was my action caused my family problems, and that's not acceptable."

(Inputs from PTI)