‘I told I will return in five days’: Hardik Pandya on World Cup ankle injury before three-month absence

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya revealed that he had promised the team management a return in five days after injuring his ankle in the league stage of the ODI World Cup last October before being ruled out for almost three months.

Featuring in the fourth match of the home World Cup against Bangladesh in Pune, Hardik appeared to twist his ankle while bowling his first over in the game. After the physios walked in to attend him, Hardik walked out of the field while it was later revealed that he would take no further part in the match. While India won the match by seven wickets and proceeded to the final without dropping another game, Hardik’s absence partially unsettled the team balance.

Speaking about the incident, Hardik said: “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.”

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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 told in an interaction on Star Sports.

Aggravating the injury

“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,” Hardik revealed.

India eventually fell in the last hurdle, losing to Australia by six wickets in the final in Ahmedabad. In the meantime, Hardik has switched franchises in the IPL, moving back to the Mumbai Indians where he replaced Rohit Sharma as captain for the IPL 2024 season. Hardik made his competitive comeback in Mumbai’s DY Patil T20 Cup, representing Reliance and picking up two wickets in his comeback match.

Hardik will return to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to lead in Mumbai’s campaign opener against the Titans on March 24.

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