India all-rounder Hardik Pandya joined the national team in New York ahead of the team's warm-up match in the T20 World Cup 2024. Pandya, who did not travel with the first batch of the Indian contingent to the USA posted photos after linking up with the team. The vice-captain of the Indian team, Pandya, took to Instagram to share the training images.
This will be Hardik's first assignment with the national team since the ODI World Cup 2023. Hardik had slipped on his bowling mark and injured his ankle in the Bangladesh game at the World Cup. The all-rounder missed series against Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan and directly played in the Indian Premier League. Pandya will be hopeful to turn around his fortunes after having a terrible time with MI.
Pandya is not the only player to travel separately. The likes of Sanju Samson and Rinku Singh have travelled alone and linked up with the Indian team in New York. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has had to adapt this approach due to the varying commitments of the players for their respective IPL franchises.
Indian players have travelled in batches to the US. The first batch of players included Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant amongst others. The second batch had the RR trio of Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Batters: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav.
Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson.
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja.
Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
India play their only warm-up game ahead of the T20 World Cup on June 1 against Bangladesh. The entire team is expected to be available for that game.
