Sydney: Swashbuckling India all-rounder Hardik Pandya said Tuesday he is ‘heading back home’. Hardik Pandya’s comments came two days after raising hopes of extending his stay in Australia. Pandya had said he would like to stay on for the Test series following his incredible outing in white ball cricket.
Pandya is coming off a back surgery. He is yet to start bowling on a regular basis. However, Pandya’s showing in the just-concluded white ball series gave rise to hopes that he might be considered for Test selection. Those beliefs were strengthened when the all-rounder, after his match-winning effort Sunday, said he wouldn’t mind staying back. However, Tuesday he confirmed he is going back to India.
“I think I should head back home and spend some quality time with my family. I haven’t seen my child for four months. So I’d like to spend some time with family right now,” Pandya said after the third T20I game here against Australia. “Maybe in the future. I don’t know, maybe,” he added when asked about his Test comeback.
For the sheer impact he made with his astonishing hitting, Pandya was named the ‘Man of the Series’. “I’m quite pleased, and wouldn’t mind getting the ‘Man of the Series’ award, but it was a team effort,” Pandya said.
“We all decided after the second ODI that we’ll treat this as a four-match series now. We were hoping that we would win three of four and that’s what we got. So happy with that,” added the all-rounder.
Pandya underwent a back surgery in October last year in the UK. His lower back had troubled him since the Test series in England in 2018.
The surgery kept him out of action for almost a year. The all-rounder last played a T20 International against South Africa at home in September 2019.
Pandya however, is hopeful that his mates will continue with the good show in the Test series also. “We as a team gel well. We also have the firepower to trouble Australia. So there’s every possibility that we can retain the Gavaskar-Border Trophy,” he asserted.
Once more Pandya asserted that for him the ‘Man of the Series’ was Tamil Nadu pacer T Natarajan.
See link: https://twitter.com/hardikpandya7/status/1336296682401644547/photo/1
“Natarajan, you were outstanding this series. To perform brilliantly in difficult conditions on your India debut speaks volumes of your talent and hardwork. You deserve Man of the Series from my side bhai! Congratulations to #TeamIndia on the win,” Pandya wrote on his Twitter account.