The Hardik Pandya conundrum: Injured, dropped, or not in plans?

While announcing the squad for the three-match ODI series in England on Sunday (June 21), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made no mention of his status in the media release. Is he injured? Has he been dropped? Have the selectors decided to move on from him? Or is the omission simply down to the fact that he is still not in a position to bowl 10 overs in an ODI?

The inference can be anything and the reality is that Pandya continues to undergo rehabilitation at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. After taking a short break following the IPL, he checked himself into the CoE on June 2 and has remained there since, undergoing what is known in high-performance sport as a Performance Block Programme: a concentrated period of training and conditioning undertaken at his own request.

The initial concern was a back spasm. More recently, however, he has been dealing with a quadriceps strain, which has delayed his return to full fitness. Sources familiar with his injury said, "Hardik experienced a minor/low grade tenderness in leg on June 9. He voluntarily got the leg scanned as a precautionary measure. The scans were sent to Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala in Mumbai who advised him a 4-5 day rest followed by a three-week training programme to come back to full fitness. He started light training on June 16."

It is understood that Pandya has recently stepped up the intensity of his training and is expected to regain full fitness by the first week of July. With the first ODI against England only on July 14, the obvious question is whether the selectors could have considered him for the squad, subject to fitness: the criterion under which Virat Kohli was included. There are no immediate answers but it is learnt that the selectors are not sure whether he will be in a position to bowl 10 overs.

The Pandya situation may be seen in the context of a recent statement from Team India. "When Hardik's fit, he obviously brings a different element because he's such a strong batter, such a strong finisher. It is difficult to find a finisher who can give you overs as well. So those guys are all tracking really nicely. Like I said with Nitish (Reddy), for the last 18 months he's shown glimpses of how important he can be to this team, particularly in this format. I feel his body's getting stronger and stronger and I sort of feel he is the natural successor to Hardik," India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said before the Chennai ODI.

Whether or not Reddy takes his place in the Indian team, there is little doubt that Pandya is going through a challenging phase in his career. He had an underwhelming IPL season with both bat and ball, while his team barely managed to avoid the bottom spot on the points table. Speculation has also intensified about his future at Mumbai Indians, with reports suggesting he could be on the move. There is already considerable buzz linking him with several teams, including Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.

Despite a poor season, Pandya continues to be highly valued in the IPL. One franchise owner told this reporter that an Indian all-rounder who can bat at a strike rate of 150 (146), bowl at 140 and also take up leadership responsibilities is 'gold dust'. However, Pandya can move to another franchise only if Mumbai Indians decide to trade him, and it is understood that no such decision has been taken yet.

The matter is expected to be considered as part of a holistic review of the season that the Mumbai Indians management will undertake at some stage. Now that RIL's AGM is over, the franchise owners may turn their attention to the IPL but there is no information of a specific timeline.

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