India won the Test series in some style. They hammered England 3-1 after coming from behind. India had lost the first test but then absolutely thumped England in three consecutive games.
With the test series done and dusted, the focus now shifts on to the T20 series. India and England will be playing a series of 5 T20 matches. The first match of this series will be played in Ahmedabad on 12th of March.
Both the teams can be seen sweating it out in the nets for preparations regarding the first match. A lot of players will be playing for India after a long time. Accordingly, these players are the ones who are limited overs specialists.
Hardik Pandya is fully fit
One such player is proven match winner and explosive all rounder Hardik Pandya. The brilliant all rounder last played for India in the first week of December, last year. Moreover, the last time Pandya played test cricket was 2 and a half years back in August 2018 vs England.
Pandya got seriously injured while playing Asia cup in 2018. Post that, he had to go through a back surgery. The surgery left his back a bit dodgy and the team management had to save himself from bowling. Since Pandya did not bowl in any kind of cricket, he was kind of cotton wrapped while playing.
Most of the times, he played as an specialist batsman. The bowling would put too much pressure on his back, again, thereby running the risk of injuring it.
However, with the 6 overseas test match in line, team management has again asked Pandya to start bowling in nets. The reason for that is that Pandya’s value as a genuine all rounder in overseas test is priceless. he can bat at number 7 for India and bowl as a fifth bowling option and third or fourth seamer.
Going by future in mind, Pandya has started bowling in the nets albeit with a bit of change. There is a tweak in his action to counter the extra pressure on his back.
Switch to a new action
Hardik has uploaded a video in which he can be seen bowling in the nets. The change in his bowling action can be confirmed even by former Indian opener Devang Gandhi. He says – “It seems that he has reduced the length of his jump and in turn the stride is shorter. If you have a big jump, automatically, your stride will be longer and there will be more pounding on landing.”
Obviously, the length of the jump has been shortened so that while he lands, the stress which his backs goes through reduces drastically. Less stress on his back means that less chance of back injury. Hence, a fit back will result in longer playing career for Pandya.
Watch the video of Pandya here : (pandya’s bowling can be seen in final 10 seconds)
Preparation done ✅🇮🇳
Can’t wait to get on the field on 12th 🌪 pic.twitter.com/Nyr6Bys2EF— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) March 9, 2021
