"Match fitness is important": Shastri on Hardik Pandya's captaincy snub

After being replaced as vicecaptain by Shubman Gill former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri suggested Hardik Pandya to play as much as possible and find inspiration to keep his fitnessHardik Pandya was appointed as Team Indias vicecaptain in the T20 World Cup 2024 Later following the retirement of Rohit Sharma Pandya was the obvious choice for the captaincy role in T20Is But when the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the squad for the Sri Lanka series Suryakumar Yadav emerged as the new captain and Gill was appointed as his deputyUltimately it was Hardiks ongoing fitness issues that cost him the captaincy Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said in the pretour press conference that they preferred a player whose availability was consistently reliable thus tilting the scales away from HardikIn the latest edition of The ICC Review Shastri offered valuable advice to Hardik on how he can return to his peak performanceI think it is very important that he continues to play Shastri said while speaking to host Sanjana Ganesan as quoted by the ICCI believe match fitness is very important So whatever T20I cricket there is he should play as much as he can And if he feels strong and fit then obviously he comes into the side for the oneday game as wellAlso ReadT20 World Cup 2024 IND vs SA The Blues and the BarbadosBut then again the bowling becomes important If you have someone coming and bowling just three overs in where you have to bowl 10 in a oneday game then the balance of the side takes a hitIf you can bowl consistently eight to 10 overs every game and then bat the way he does I think hell play in oneday cricket as well he concluded his pointHardik has had a longstanding battle with major injuries that date back to 2018During Indias highvoltage clash against Pakistan that year at the Asia Cup in Dubai Pandya collapsed after bowling clutching his back in agony and had to be stretchered off the field A diagnosis revealed a stress fracture that necessitated surgery and extensive rehabilitationHardik Pandya chose to recover without surgery and managed to get fit in time for the ICC Mens Cricket World Cup 2019 However his back issues resurfaced later that year ultimately requiring him to undergo surgeryMore recently Hardik sustained an ankle injury while attempting to field the ball on followthrough during Indias Cricket World Cup 2023 encounter against BangladeshThis injury sidelined him for an extended period and he only returned to international action during the T20 World CupUpon his return Hardik reminded everyone of his exceptional talent as an allrounder scoring crucial runs and taking important wickets throughout the tournament In the T20 World Cup Pandya scored 144 runs in six innings at an average of 4800 and a strike rate of 15157 with a halfcentury and best score of 50 He also took 11 wickets in eight games at an average of 1736 and an economy rate of 764 with the best figures of 320In the finals of the T20 World Cup 2024 Hardik Pandya bowled the crucial last over to guide India to victory In his spell he dismissed dangerouslooking Heinrich Klaasen and David MillerThe 30yearold then collected two wickets and scored a valuable 22 during Indias seriesclinching victory over Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Sunday to further showcase his credentialsShastri said that his recent performances would be enough motivation for Hardik to get back to full fitnessSo I think it is up to him really more than anything else Shastri addedHe understands his body better than anyone And I am sure this will inspire him especially with the way he did in the World Cup the way he performed at the right times for India and the World Cup so that should really get him going He should not need any motivation to get his fitness right at the top he concludedWith ANI Inputs