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'I do miss my bowling': Mumbai Indians' Hardik Pandya breaks his silence on not bowling in IPL 2021
Mumbai Indians' star player Hardik Pandya on Friday finally broke his silence on how he feels about not bowling in IPL 2021
Mumbai Indians' star player Hardik Pandya on Friday finally broke his silence on how he feels about not bowling in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2021 (IPL) season.
_1619232980374_1619232996584.png "Hardik Pandya in action in IPL 2021 (IPL/BCCI)")
Speaking to broadcasters Star Sports after MI suffered a nine-wicket loss at the hands of Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Pandya revealed that there are certain things in life one just has to deal with.
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"I do miss my bowling but I don't think it's putting pressure on my batting. I have played throughout my life as an all-rounder and I am just learning how to deal with it and move on in life with a smile," said Pandya.
In last year's IPL, Hardik had returned to cricket after a lengthy layoff due to back surgery, and MI maintained his workload by not giving him the ball the entire season.
Pandya bowled five overs in the ODI series against Australia, and then he did not feature in the Test series Down Under. He was also not included in the playing XI for all the four-Test series against England.
Pandya bowled in the T20I series but did not bowl in the first two ODIs against England. After questions were raised on his role in the team, the allrounder returned to bowling duties in the final ODI in which he bowled 9 overs.
But now once again, in IPL 2021, Pandya has not been given the ball in MI's first five games. He has also not been able to perform with the bat so far. The Baroda batsman has only scored 36 runs in 5 matches and is yet to hit a six.
A few days earlier, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene explained why Pandya isn't being given the ball in IPL 2021.
"We were looking forward to him bowling this season as he didn't bowl in last year's IPL after coming from an injury and he wasn't ready. In his last ODI match against England, I believe Hardik picked up a niggle so we don't want to risk an injury," Jayawardene explained.
"We want to be sure that he is comfortable in bowling so hopefully in the next few weeks with a bit of work and all that you might see him bowling, we would love to see him bowling but as soon as the niggle goes off and he is comfortable in bowling we could utilise that asset as well," he added.
