Cricinfo has learnt that Hardik experienced pain in his shin closer to selection for the Afghanistan series. Scans, however, revealed a tibia issue and he was advised rest for about a week. On September 17 he took his first fitness test where he bowled, but not the full quota of 10 overs which is considered a mandatory requirement for the CoE medical staff along with the Indian team management and selectors.
During the second fitness test, on September 19, the shin pain resurfaced. After another scan this week, he has been advised complete rest for two weeks which will be followed by another reassessment.
“So the focus for us – especially for Hardik, who needs game time as well; he hasn’t played a lot of cricket since the IPL – if we talk about 50-over cricket, if we want to play him, he might be short of cricket,” Gambhir told JioHotstar. “If he plays a little bit of T20 cricket and then gets to one-day cricket, because game time going into the World Cup is going to be extremely, extremely important. You can’t go to the World Cup half-cooked. So you must have enough game time and your rhythm should be good enough, because there are no ifs and buts when it comes to a World Cup. There are no chances to make mistakes.”
India will also play five T20Is in New Zealand starting October 22.
