‘Ye alag level ka cotton candy hai’ – Fans react as Hardik Pandya set to be out of cricket action for 18 more weeks, says report

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya sustained an ankle injury during a league-stage match against Bangladesh in the recently concluded ODI World Cup 2023, leading to his exclusion from the entire tournament. Initially, there were expectations of his return after a brief rest, but the Indian Cricket Board later surprised fans by announcing his complete withdrawal from the competition.

Hardik has been absent from the cricket scene, raising concerns among fans, especially with the T20 World Cup approaching. Recently, a source from the Indian Cricket Board disclosed exclusive information about the board’s plans for Hardik’s recovery. It’s worth noting that the Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder has been undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA since his exit from the World Cup. And now he will undergo an 18-month long program by NCA which means he will be away from the action for almost 18 more months.

“We speak of workload management. This is precisely what it is all about. Is there a doubt on his ability as a T20 cricketer? No. What we rather need is setting long-term goals and ensuring endurance levels remain up to the mark,” an Indian Cricket Board source was quoted as saying by One Cricket.

Hardik Pandya has returned to Mumbai Indians 

Talking about Hardik, he was recently traded to MI from Gujarat Titans (GT) in a massive INR 15 crore deal after which, the fans on social media brutally trolled the all-rounder. They claimed that Hardik failed to show his loyalty to the Gujarat-based franchise and ran behind money.

The fans are now claiming that Hardik will be fit just ahead of the Indian Premier League 2024 as they believe Hardik never gets injured while playing in the cash-rich league but somehow he injured himself while playing for the nation in the international platform.

Interestingly, Hardik led GT to 2 consecutive Indian Premier League (IPL) finals in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, GT won the title in their first-ever season while they were defeated by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2023 final. Fans were shocked to see Hardik leaving GT after a successful run as a captain. 

Here’s how fans reacted:

https://twitter.com/Keahwaa/status/1731920648417517836

https://twitter.com/haidersultan777/status/1731924633622827426