Hardik Pandya recalled the times when he suffered an ankle injury during the World Cup 2023. In the match against Najmul Hossain Shanto’s Bangladesh at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune, Hardik twisted his ankle and walked off the park, wincing in pain.
Later, the 30-year-old Hardik failed to get fit and was ruled out of the mega event. After Hardik missed out, fast bowler Mohammed Shami replaced him in the playing XI and eventually finished as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament.
‘I was aiming to run’
“I had preparing for the World Cup for more than a year. It was a freak injury during the match. The injury was said to be for 25 days and that would mean I would miss the rest of the World Cup, but I pushed.
“I told the management that I would return after five days. I got injections done on my ankle in three places. I had to remove blood from my ankle because of the swelling. I wanted to give everything,” Hardik said in an interaction on Star Sports.
“At one point I did know that if I keep pushing, I might be injured for a long time, but for me, it was never the answer. Even if there was a one percent chance, I could be with the team, I would do it. While I was pushing for that, I had a reoccurrence which eventually became a three-month injury. I was aiming to run when I could not walk after pushing for 10 days, but I missed out,” he added.
Hardik recently made a comeback in the DY Patil T20 Cup where he picked up wickets. He is now set for his new role as the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Earlier, Hardik replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of the 5-time champions. Back in 2022, Hardik helped the Gujarat Titans win their maiden IPL title after beating Rajasthan Royals in the final. After Hardik left, it is Shubman Gill, who has taken over as the skipper of GT.
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