Watch: Hardik Pandya resumes bowling in nets as all-rounder gears up for IPL 2024

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has resumed bowling in the nets and looks poised to return to competitive cricket in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). Pandya has been recovering from an ankle injury he sustained during the ICC ODI World Cup in October last year. After undergoing rehabilitation for a considerable period at Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy (NCA), Pandya recently started the on-field training. The 30-year-old has returned to Vadodara, the city he started his cricket journey from 17 years ago.

Pandya shared a video of his practice session on X (formerly Twitter), giving insights into his recovery process. According to Pandya, he has been giving “his all every single day” to get back on his feet. In the 57-second-long video, he is seen bowling a few spells in the net while going through some other forms of physical training.

A few days ago, Pandya dropped a series of pictures on Instagram where he was seen performing yoga and meditating at his residence. One of the frames captured the cricketer spending time with his four-year-old son Agastya Pandya. “Peaceful start to my week,” Pandya wrote in the caption of the post.

Pandya is set to lead the five-time IPL champions, Mumbai Indians, in the next edition of the franchise tournament, replacing Rohit Sharma. He has already lifted the title once as skipper, when he led the Gujarat Titans to their maiden title in 2022. Under his captaincy, Gujarat reached the final of the 2023 IPL as well but failed to overcome MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.

Indian cricket fans were stunned when Pandya and the Gujarat-based franchise parted ways ahead of the 2024 IPL. In November last year, several media outlets reported that Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians had agreed to a trade deal that would see Pandya return to his former team for a staggering transfer fee of Rs 100 crore. As per his new contract with Mumbai, Pandya will earn Rs 15 crores per season.

During his previous spell with the Mumbai Indians, Pandya lifted the IPL trophy four times— in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Pandya has aggregated 2,309 runs and picked 53 wickets in 123 matches in the IPL since his debut in 2015.