Reports | Unfit Hardik Pandya not considered for NZ Tour

Pandya is a valuable asset to India especially in the white-ball game because of the kind of balance that he brings to the team with his all-round ability. But India will have to cope up without his services in the New Zealand tour as he failed the fitness tests and thus was not at all considered for selection. Although Pandya thought that he would be fit to play in the second half of the tour, a BCCI source said that it was his personal opinion.

“He must have felt that he will be fit. But as we know he has failed the fitness test contrary to what his trainer S Rajnikant claims. It was never about Yo-Yo Test but about bowling fitness. He failed the workload test which broadly means failing fitness test,” a senior BCCI source in the know of things told PTI.

Pandya failed the test of bowling workload monitoring which is one of the important tests for someone recovering from a back injury. With the T20 World Cup around the corner, the Indian team will be hoping for Pandya's quick recovery and will be looking forward to getting him back for the ODI series against South Africa at home in March.