‘I told them that I will return in 5 days then…’: Hardik Pandya on injury that ruled him out of WC 2023

Hardik Pandya‘s participation in the ODI World Cup 2023 was reduce brief attributable to an ankle injury that he suffered throughout India’s group stage match in opposition to Bangladesh on nineteenth October 2023. Pandya missed out on the remaining of the event and was additionally out of motion from any of the collection India performed after that. The all-rounder is now all set to steer Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024.

Ahead of the seventeenth version of the Indian cash-rich league, Pandya has opened up on his ankle injury that ruled him out of the rest of the event. Speaking to Star Sports, Pandya mentioned that he initially told the administration that he would return in 5 days however then a recurrence got here and he needed to miss out from the event. 

“I don’t start preparations for a tournament 2-3 months before. The preparation for the World Cup began a year ago. I planned my routines. This was a freak injury. Very few people know that my injury was extended because when I got injured, it was meant to be for 25 days only. But I pushed. I was like, ‘I had come back’. When I left the team, I told the management, ‘main 5 din me vaapis aa raha hu’ (I will return in five days),” he told Star Sports.

He then mentioned that he needed to be with the workforce even when there was a one per cent probability regardless of risking himself being out of motion for an extended interval. “I got injections done on my ankles at three different places, I had to remove blood from my ankle because the swelling became that much. In a way, I didn’t want to give up. At one point, I was aware if I might keep pushing, I might be away for a long time. If there was a 1 per cent chance of being with the team, I would,” he added.

Pandya mentioned that the injury aggravated which resulted in his restoration being longer than as soon as anticipated. “When I was pushing, I had a recurrence where my injury extended to three months. I wasn’t able to walk, but I was even trying to run. I was on painkillers, I was trying to make a comeback. The biggest pride for me is to play for the country, and the World Cup at home was my baby. I missed out on that, and it is something that is going to be heavy on the heart,” the all-rounder added.

Pandya missed out on the rest of the event and didn’t play in the next three T20I collection too – one every in opposition to Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan. He is now set to return again to motion in the IPL as he gears up for the T20 World Cup 2024 in June.