Hardik Pandya is raring to take the field for Team India in the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, starting on June 9 in Delhi. He also reacted to the speculation that the Indian selectors had dropped him due to his fitness issues.

He recently led Gujarat Titans (GT) to the IPL 2022 title and the star all-rounder played a key role in the success of the new franchise in the tournament. Pandya was excellent with the bat, scoring 487 runs in 15 matches as well as taking 8 wickets with the best figures of 3/7 in the IPL 2022 final against RR.

Well, now IPL 15 is over, and Hardik Pandya is back in his old colors to rule the international stage. Ahead of the T20I series against South Africa, Pandya said that he wants to replicate his IPL exploits for India.

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Hardik Pandya said in a video shared by GT on Twitter: “The old Hardik will be back. Now the fans are back, it's time for me to make comeback. A lot of matches are going to be played and I'm looking forward to it. What I did for my franchise, I will also make sure that I can also do the same for my country.”

Before the IPL 2022, the all-rounder was out of action for at least 6 months, having last played for India in the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE, which led to speculation of selectors dropping him due to his fitness issues.

However, the 28-year-old stressed that it was his decision to take a break from the game.

Pandya signed off by saying, “Lot of people don't know that I took off; It was my decision. A lot of misconception is that I was dropped. You get dropped when you are available. Thankful to the BCCI as they allowed me to take long breaks and did not even force me to come back.”

Watch the video here –