‘He tried to show off’: Ajay Jadeja lambasts Gujarat Titans’ skipper Hardik Pandya on fitness concerns

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya made a staggering return to competitive cricket in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Under his inspirational leadership, Gujarat Titans (GT) – the newly added IPL franchise – has done wonders and booked a place in the playoffs after they recently defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 62 runs.

Not only as a captain, but Pandya also played a massive role as a player as well behind GT’s consistent run in the fifteenth season. He smashed two crucial half-centuries in the first four games and bowled superbly, picking up four wickets in the first five games with an economy rate of 7.75.

The 28-year-old looked completely fit and was bowling at a fast pace in the initial stage of the IPL 2022. But a fitness issue forced him to miss a match, and since then, his performance with the bat and ball has gone down drastically.

Pandya has only bowled one over in the past six matches and only playing as a specialist batsman. Though it isn’t known whether he is still dealing with fitness issues or not, there’s surely something that is keeping him away from bowling.

Sharing his take on Pandya, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja has come down hard on the star all-rounder, stating that Pandya tried to show off, and he is himself to be blamed for the fitness issues. Jadeja reckoned that in order to prove something, the GT captain ended up showing immaturity.

“He (Hardik Pandya) has no one to blame but himself. There was no doubt that he was injured, he was making a comeback. He bowled at 140 km/h, which was perhaps more than what the team required. He probably tried to show off that he can do it, wanted to prove to the doubters wrong,” Jadeja told Cricbuzz.

“He put in all his effort and body… So much that now he can’t even run properly. And this is a learning phase of life. A cricketer gradually understands his limits. So once again, it showed his immaturity,” added Jadeja.

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May 12, 2022 at 09:28PM