Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has opened up on the veteran all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s return to professional cricket after spending a lot of time at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra asserted that Pandya’s return to the game is a positive development, adding that the all-rounder is still awaiting fitness clearance from the BCCI CoE.
Notably, Pandya has been included in the India A squad for the forthcoming Australia A One-Day series, which is scheduled to commence on Tuesday, October 6, in Puducherry. However, his participation is subject to fitness clearance.
“Hardik Pandya is back. That’s a good development because, at some stage, you want his name to come. Until when will he remain unfit, although there is still no guarantee whether he will play or not because this series is slightly late. It’s not starting tomorrow or the day after,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Chopra shared his views on Rajat Patidar’s return and Ruturaj Gaikwad being appointed as captain of the One-Day side, with Devdutt Padikkal appointed as his deputy for the three-game One-Day series.
“Rajat Patidar returning to the scheme of things is good news. Ruturaj Gaikwad becoming the captain- I think that’s good news. It is actually a good balance. I feel this team is good,” Chopra observed.
Rajat Patidar, who has represented India in a solitary ODI, has amassed 2,278 runs at a strike rate of 99.17 in 65 List A innings. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has played nine ODIs, has scored 5,334 runs at a strike rate of 101.23 in 100 List A innings.
India A One-Day squad vs Australia A: Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal [VC], Ruturaj Gaikwad [C], Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya*, Prabhsimran Singh [WK], Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur
Note: *Subject to fitness clearance
