(UTV | INDIA) – Hardik Pandya joined the Indian camp, underway at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, on Monday.
The India all-rounder, out of action since the Twenty20 World Cup last October-November, will be at the Bangalore academy for a few days before he re-joins the Gujarat Titans side of the Indian Premier League.
The camp, a brainchild of head coach Rahul Dravid, has been called for the white-ball players of the Indian team with an eye on this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia. The Indian team management wanted to take stock of the players’ fitness and advise them accordingly before the highly gruelling two months of the IPL action.
The call-up for Pandya, as previously reported, is a pointer to him being in the scheme of things for Dravid, who has started planning for the October tournament.
“Yes, he has gone to Bangalore. He will be at the NCA for a few days before returning to Ahmedabad and quarantine,” said a source in the Gujarat Titans side. Pandya is the skipper of the of Ahmedabad team.
The Gujarat Titans are currently undergoing quarantine and will start practice at Nardera Modi Stadium in Motera from Thursday (March 17).
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the 10-day camp is winding up on Tuesday (March 15) with most players allowed to join their respective IPL teams. Pandya, however, will be there and will train alongside Mumbai Indians Surya Kumar Yadav and a few other players are undergoing rehab at the BCCI’s Bangalore facility.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings have said they still have no confirmation on the exact availability period of all-rounder Deepak Chahar for the IPL season.
Bought at Rs 14 crore, Chahar has suffered a hamstring injury and franchise CEO Kasi Viswanathan said CSK will take a call on him or a potential replacement only after a full report from the NCA has been received. “At this stage, we are not thinking of a replacement yet,” the Super Kings official said.