IPL 2021: “He hasn’t bowled a single ball yet” – Rohit Sharma provides crucial update on Hardik Pandya

Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Hardik Pandya was an all-round flop in IPL 2021. Captain Rohit Sharma revealed that the 27-year-old hasn’t started bowling yet and expressed disappointment at his failed batting displays too.

MI loyals must surely have been rendered disappointed with Hardik’s performance this season, while Indian cricket fans would have their fingers crossed with the T20 World Cup starting in a week’s time.

The Baroda lad was touted to play a key role with both the bat and ball at the showpiece event. But Rohit Sharma made it clear that Hardik Pandya hasn't recovered from his injury - maybe a niggle or his chronic back issue - and hasn't bowled a single ball yet, not even in practice. For the record, he last bowled two overs in a T20I against Sri Lanka, back on July 25.

“In terms of his bowling, he [Hardik] hasn’t bowled yet. So the physios, the trainers, the medical team is working on his bowling. As of now, all I know is, he hasn’t bowled a single ball yet. But we wanted to take one game at a time and see where he stands.

“He didn’t bowl today as well, but he’s getting better day by day. So in the next week or so, he might be able to bowl – only the doctors or the physios will be able to give an update on that,” Rohit said at the press conference after their final league match.

MI comfortably beat the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 42 runs tonight, but the margin wasn’t enough to seal a playoffs berth. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), also on 14 points, secured the final spot owing to a superior NRR (net run-rate), +0.587 to MI’s +0.116.

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“Hardik will not be happy with his batting” – Rohit Sharma

Hardik Pandya has a highest score of 40* this season [Credits: IPL]

There is no doubt MI missed Hardik Pandya, the bowler, this season. But their bigger cause of concern was the fact that he couldn’t find his range with the willow as well. In the 12 matches played, Hardik scored just 127 runs at a paltry average and strike-rate of 14.11 and 113.39 respectively.

Hardik Pandya’s lean patch left a gaping hole in MI’s middle-order, which also hampered their finishing in almost every innings. Rohit Sharma acknowledged it was a disappointing season for Hardik, while also harping about his ability to turn things around quickly.

“As far as Hardik's batting is concerned, yes he will be a little disappointed. But he’s a quality player, there’s no doubt about that, and he has come back from tough situations before as well. Personally for him, he will not be happy with his batting. But again, the team has confidence in his ability, I personally have confidence in his ability.

“So yeah, he’s getting better every time that he goes onto the field – he looks better and better – but again, a player like him is probably just one innings away from getting back to his own natural way,” Rohit added in response to Sportskeeda’s question.

In fact, the MI management was even prompted to add Kiwi all-rounder Jimmy Neesham, who would roll his arms over in the middle period, for the final three matches. But as Rohit reiterated, it was indeed a collective failure, which saw the five-time champions finish fifth in the 14th edition.

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