Ravi Shastri Urges Hardik Pandya to Avoid Breaks After T20I Captaincy Snub

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Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has a piece of advice for Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has recently been snubbed from the T20I captaincy of the Indian cricket team.

Shastri has advised Hardik to focus on his fitness and avoid missing too much action. Notably, Hardik Pandya has one of the most fragile bodies in the Indian cricket team and often gets injured.

Hardik Pandya, considered a key asset for the Indian cricket team, got injured in the ODI World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh and was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.

He later made a comeback in the IPL, where he did not have a great outing with the bat or ball. However, he made an astounding comeback in the T20 World Cup 2024, where he was one of the key contributors with both bat and ball, including in the final match.

While everyone expected Hardik Pandya to fill the shoes of Rohit Sharma, who announced his retirement from T20 internationals after winning the T20 World Cup 2024, that was not the case, as the management gave this responsibility to Suryakumar Yadav.

The reason behind snubbing Hardik Pandya from the captaincy was his fitness, as per the chief Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir. Talking about the same, Ravi Shastri stated that Hardik Pandya should play as much as he can to remain fit.

Here is what he said in the ICC review:

“I think (it’s) very important that he continues to play,” Shastri said while speaking to host Sanjana Ganesan.

“I believe match fitness is very important. So whatever T20I cricket there is, he should play as much as he can. And if he feels strong and fit, then obviously he comes into the side for the one-day game as well.”

While he was snubbed from the captaincy, he has also not been considered for the vice-captaincy role, as Shubman Gill has been appointed vice-captain in both formats of white-ball cricket, and soon he will be appointed vice-captain in Test cricket as well.

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