MOHALI: As the evening sun went down here on Wednesday, Nitish Kumar Reddy was the first one to mark his run up at the centre square. Rohit Sharma, cleared by the BCCI medical team, took stance in one of the four nets. Reddy has become the centre of discussion once it emerged on Wednesday morning that Hardik Pandya developed a low grade quadricep strain a day before joining the India’s ODI team ahead of the series against Afghanistan starting in Dharamshala on Saturday.Two days ago, India’s assistant batting coach Sitanshu Kotak conveyed to the media that both Hardik and Rohit are reportedly fine to play in the series. TOI has learnt that Hardik had dispelled doubts about his ability to bowl 10 overs at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru by June 6. His data was shared with BCCI and team management before he felt discomfort in his quadriceps on Tuesday morning. The CoE staff accompanied him to the BCCI-recommended diagnostic centre on Tuesday night where the injury was confirmed. The selectors and the team management have been fretting about his bowling fitness as they chart their plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa. He was also rested from the upcoming T20I assignments in Ireland and England to preserve him for the ODI format.The recent development could force the selectors and team management to give an extended run to Reddy. He may get a lot more matches through rotation even when Hardik is declared fit to play ODIs. Reddy has been working with UK-based bowling coach Stefan Jones to increase his pace and endurance as a seam-bowling allrounder.India have about 25-30 ODIs before the World Cup in Oct-Nov next year. Sources told TOI that the team management is getting edgy with Hardik’s availability on consistent basis. “The team doesn’t want to get caught in a situation where they don’t have a seam-bowling allrounder ready close to the World Cup. There have been discussions where they wanted to prepare for life without Hardik,” a BCCI source told TOI.The desperation is creeping into the team management is evidenced by the fact that Harshit Rana has been picked for the T20I teams before the CoE has cleared him after a layoff post a knee surgery. TOI understands that Rana is yet to undergo the match simulation tests. The simulation test is likely to be scheduled around June 19 while the team travels to Ireland on June 22.Rana is earmarked to make up for seam-bowling allrounder options. Both Rana and Harshit played in the XI when Hardik was not available for the home ODI series against New Zealand in Jan. “Rana is an integral part of the team management’s plans. He showed he can contribute with useful runs batting at No. 8. The team management is willing to get him ready on the road. He too needs enough game time. They will gradually increase his workload,” the source said.
What strategy should the team management adopt regarding their seam-bowling allrounder options?
The selectors had named Shivam Dube as backup in one of the home ODI series last series. It is understood that head coach Gautam Gambhir insisted Dube stayed in the mix. But there’s little conviction about his bowling abilities. It will be interesting to see who replaces Hardik for this series.
