NEW DELHI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has made it clear that Hardik Pandya will have to build his way back into international cricket through game time, with the all-rounder currently not part of India’s squads after not playing enough cricket since the IPL.

Following India’s 127-run win over Afghanistan in the third T20I in New Delhi on Thursday, Gambhir said Pandya’s immediate priority should be getting back on the field, including through the India A series, before pushing for a return to the senior sides.

“Hardik at the moment cannot bowl 10 overs, and he hasn’t played a lot of cricket since the IPL, so we don’t want to push him into international cricket because international cricket can be extremely tough on your body as well,” Gambhir said during the post-match press conference.

The India head coach also revealed that the message to Pandya has been straightforward: play, regain match fitness and then push for a place in both white-ball squads.

“And that was the clear message to him that if he can play that India A series, and then if everything goes well, he can come back and be part of the T20s and the one-day squad as well,” Gambhir said.

India could play Hardik and Nitish together

Gambhir’s comments also highlighted India’s plans to develop more than one seam-bowling all-rounder. Nitish Kumar Reddy, initially included in India’s 15-member Asian Games squad, has been withdrawn from the continental event and will instead feature in the ODI series against the West Indies.

Gambhir believes the move will give Reddy valuable game time and accelerate his development with the ball ahead of India’s future assignments.

“From Nitish’s point of view, it’s actually a great thing that he’s been withdrawn from the T20 format, and he’ll get game time against the West Indies as well,” he said. “We know how important a seam-bowling all-rounder will probably be in a year and when we go to South Africa. And once Hardik comes back, obviously it’s going to be good.”

The coach even suggested India could eventually accommodate both Pandya and Reddy in the same playing XI.

“Sometimes we could even go on to play both of them in the playing 11,” Gambhir said, while stressing that Pandya’s current bowling workload remains a factor.

“Hardik at the moment cannot bowl 10 overs,” he added.

Advertisement

Reddy’s bowling development excites Gambhir

Gambhir was encouraged by Reddy’s progress as a seam-bowling all-rounder and believes having multiple players who can contribute with both bat and ball will give India greater flexibility.

“I think it’s good that we got Nitish now from the Asian Games so that now he can, and you could see the more he bowls, the better he becomes, and we have when you can develop a couple of seam-bowling all-rounders, it will always be handy,” Gambhir said.

Reddy will now get an opportunity to feature in the ODI series against the West Indies rather than the Asian Games, providing him with additional match exposure.

Abhishek’s hundred powers India to 3-0 sweep

The Hardik discussion came after India completed a commanding 3-0 T20I series sweep over Afghanistan. Abhishek Sharma smashed a record-breaking 108 off just 34 balls as India posted 221/7 in the third match in New Delhi.

Ravi Bishnoi and Reddy then claimed three wickets each as Afghanistan were bowled out for 94, their lowest total against India in T20Is and their heaviest defeat in the format.

Gambhir, however, said the focus inside the dressing room remained on impact rather than individual milestones.

“I can sit here and keep talking about his 100, but it’s just the impact. The only thing we talk about in that dressing room is how much impact we create with the bat and how much impact we can create with the ball,” Gambhir said.

India’s 100 runs in the powerplay was another major positive for Gambhir.

“T20 cricket is not about runs or wickets; it’s about how much impact you can create,” he said. “The biggest positive was we got a 100 in the powerplay that we have never done in my coaching tenure.”