‘Hardik needs to talk to Zaheer Khan and L Balaji – players who have undergone many injuries and come back strong. Ashish Nehra is an amazing character too. He had so many injuries, but every time he came back stronger.’
IMAGE: Hardik Pandya has been away from action since suffering an injury during IPL 2026 in May. He has not played a single One-Day International since the ICC Champions Trophy final in March 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo
Key Points
- India trainer Ramji Srinivasan has stated Hardik Pandya must bowl a minimum of 10 overs in matches and 15-20 overs in practice to be considered for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
- Pandya has been out of action since May 2026 due to an IPL injury and has not played an ODI since March 2025, with recent setbacks including quadriceps and shin injuries.
- Srinivasan emphasised that Pandya’s overall fitness, including skill, strength, recovery, nutrition, and mental condition, must be prioritised for his return.
- The trainer believes Pandya is talented enough for all formats but requires proper assessment, workload management, and extensive match practice.
Hardik Pandya’s prolonged absence from cricket in 2026 because of regular injuries in the past few months has left him a doubtful starter for the 2027 ODI World Cup next year.
India trainer Ramji Srinivasan has made it clear that if Hardik — who turns 33 on October 11, 2026 — wants to put himself back into contention in India’s World Cup team, he has to regain his full fitness and sharply increase his bowling workload.
Trainer’s Ultimatum for World Cup Selection
‘If he has to play in the World Cup, he has to bowl a minimum of 10 overs. And to bowl those 10 overs efficiently, he should be able to bowl 15-20 overs in practice. That”s how it”s done,” Srinivasan told The Hindustan Times.
‘The person has to be totally fit, where your skill, fitness, strength and conditioning, recovery protocols, prehab protocols, nutrition and mental condition – everything has to work around the skill. It cannot be the other way around.’
Hardik has been away from action since suffering an injury during IPL 2026 in May. He has not played a single One-Day International since the ICC Champions Trophy final in March 2025.
He was named in the India A squad for the ongoing three-match one-day series against Australia A before he was ruled out due to a persistent injury concern, experiencing pain while bowling, further extending his absence from competitive cricket.
Battling Persistent Injuries
Initially ruled out of the last few games of IPL 2026 with back spasms, Hardik suffered further injury blows — including quadriceps injury and shin injury — while recovering at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru in the past few months.
‘He is talented enough to play all formats. That body can hold up. Cricket is not as physical a sport as tennis, soccer, the NBA or the NFL. You can do loads of things for Hardik to be able to play all three formats. First of all, get the assessment right. Workload management doesn”t start with physios. It starts with understanding where they are missing an analysis and what remedial measures are being given by the strength and conditioning coaches. Start from scratch. We want Hardik to be fit as a fiddle for the World Cup. For that, he has to have a lot of match practice,’ pointed out Srinivasan.
Learning from Past Comebacks
Srinivasan, who served as the Indian team’s strength and conditioning coach during their World Cup triumph in 2011, called up on Hardik to learn from the experiences of Zaheer Khan and Lakshmipathy Balaji, who made successful comebacks to the Indian team following injury setbacks.
‘Hardik should take a leaf out of L Balaji”s book. He came back so much stronger to play for India again in 2012, the T20 World Cup and the New Zealand tour. How did he come back? Balaji”s processes may not be pertinent now, but having a process is crucial. How do you make the process robust?’
‘Hardik needs to talk to Zaheer Khan and L Balaji – players who have undergone many injuries and come back strong. Ashish Nehra is an amazing character too. He had so many injuries, but every time he came back stronger. He needs to ask them: how did you set your fitness protocols?’