Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond wants all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is recovering from a back surgery, to play a few matches before the Indian Premier League, beginning March 29.
“I only hope he gets to play some cricket before the IPL and always believe it’s better to spend a little bit longer for coming back rather than rushing it,” Bond said.
“There’s no doubt he can come back. I am just pleased that they are taking an orthodox approach with Hardik’s rehabilitation and T20s, especially IPL will be nice for him to comeback as he will not be over-bowled.”
Pandya underwent a productive net session at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru recently.
He was seen facing throwdown in the nets and mainly played with a straight bat. It is not yet clear if he will make a comeback in the South Africa ODIs next month or the IPL.
Earlier this month, Pandya was ruled out of the Test series against New Zealand after failing to regain full match fitness.