Shoaib Akhtar said he advised Hardik Pandya to gain muscle mass.© Instagram
Since India left the semifinals at the 2019 ODI World Cup, Hardik Pandya has seen a drastic change in his international career curve due to fitness issues. The all-rounder was not at his best this year and received a lot of criticism for his role in India’s elimination from the T20 World Championship. On Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel, legendary Pakistani pacemaker Shoaib Akhtar announced that he had predicted Hardik’s fitness problems and also warned the Mumbai Indians (MI) cricketer. Akhtar stated that a lean body contributed to the 28-year-old’s back problems.
“I told Bumrah in Dubai and even Hardik Pandya. They were as slim as birds. They had no back muscles. Even now I have such good strong back muscles behind my shoulders,” said Akhtar.
“I touched his (Hardik) back, the muscles were there, but very lean. So I warned him he was going to get injured. But he said he played a lot of cricket.”
“He was injured exactly an hour and a half later,” he added.
In 2018, during an Asian Cup group match against Pakistan, Hardik was tolerated bowling in the game. Since then, his career has been heavily influenced by back problems and he only appeared as a batsman during the 2021 IPL for Mumbai.
Akhtar also stated that he advised Hardik to increase his muscle mass.
Hardik’s inclusion on India’s T20 World Cup team that year was not well received by fans and experts as many pointed out his fitness issues.
The men in blue failed to reach the knockout stage after losing to Pakistan and New Zealand in the Super 12 stage. Despite not bowling at the 2021 IPL, he would resume his bowling duties against the Blackcaps and Afghanistan during the tournament.
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