Indian all rounder Hardik Pandya reminisced about his ankle injuries sustained at the 2023 World Cup. Hardik twisted his ankle during the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium match against Najmul Hossain Shanto’s Bangladesh, and he had to leave the field while groaning.
Hardik Pandya sheds light on his ankle injury
The 30-year-old Hardik was later disqualified from the major event after failing to get fit. Mohammed Shami, a fast bowler, took Hardik’s spot in the playing XI when he was left out and went on to win the most wickets in the competition.
“I had preparing for the World Cup for more than a year. It was a freak injury during the match. The injury was said to be for 25 days and that would mean I would miss the rest of the World Cup, but I pushed.
“I told the management that I would return after five days. I got injections done on my ankle in three places. I had to remove blood from my ankle because of the swelling. I wanted to give everything,” Hardik said in an interaction on Star Sports.
“At one point I did know that if I keep pushing, I might be injured for a long time, but for me, it was never the answer. Even if there was a one percent chance, I could be with the team, I would do it. While I was pushing for that, I had a reoccurrence which eventually became a three-month injury. I was aiming to run when I could not walk after pushing for 10 days, but I missed out,” he added.
Hardik recently made his return in the DY Patil T20 Cup where he picked up handful of wickets. He is all geared up for his new role as the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
