“Good energy, high energy”- Hardik Pandya spends quality time in the gym ahead of T20 World Cup

Star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has begun his preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Ahead of the marquee event in Australia, he is working on his fitness by spending quality time in the gym.

Hardik has been rested from the ongoing T20Is against South Africa. He scored 105 runs in three T20Is against Australia, including an unbeaten 71 off 30, in the recently concluded T20I series.

In an Instagram video uploaded to his Instagram account, he can be seen building muscle to showcase his power game in Australia. He captioned the post:

“Good energy, high energy”

The Baroda all-rounder has been phenomenal for the Men in Blue in T20Is this year. He has already scored 436 runs and picked up 12 wickets in 19 matches. He will look to continue his purple patch at the showpiece event in Australia.

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“Hardik Pandya way above Ben Stokes” – Shane Watson

Former Australian cricketer Shane Watson rates Hardik ahead of England star all-rounder Ben Stokes in T20 cricket. He also labeled him as a versatile batter.

Speaking to NDTV, he said:

"It is really pleasing to see Hardik playing like he is doing right now. And in regards to T20 cricket, Hardik is way above where Ben Stokes is right now. With the way Hardik is batting, his versatility while batting at the end, the way he is bowling. Right now, at this moment, Hardik is the stand-out."

He added:

“Hardik is absolutely at the peak of his powers at this moment. It is an absolute treat to watch him play. I love watching fast-bowling all-rounders who steam in and have a real crack.”

With Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the T20 World Cup, Hardik Pandya is likely to be used as the sixth bowler throughout the tournament.

Rohit Sharma and Co. will play a couple of warm-up matches against Australia (October 17) and New Zealand (October 19) before the Super 12 stage. The Men in Blue will then take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match on Sunday (October 23).

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India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah (replacement yet to be announced), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh.

Standby players - Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Chahar.