"Hardik cannot bowl 10 overs": Gautam Gambhir on Pandya's fitness

Hardik Pandya and Gautam Gambhir (Pic: AFP)

Following India's dominant 3-0 T20I series sweep over Afghanistan, head coach Gautam Gambhir offered his thoughts on the team's long-term strategy, backing Nitish Kumar Reddy's growth as a seam-bowling all-rounder and adding that Hardik Pandya requires match practice before making his international return.

Addressing Pandya's path back into the national team, Gambhir said that playing domestic fixtures for India A will help the experienced all-rounder build up his workload safely without overworking his body.

"Sometimes we could even go on to play both of them in the playing 11. But again, 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. So if he plays those India A series, obviously he'll get some game time as well," Gautam Gambhir said.

"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, and in the meantime, Nitish will get more game time as well because he hasn't played enough cricket since the IPL either," the Indian head coach added.

Gautam Gambhir on Nitish Kumar Reddy's role

Speaking after the match, Gambhir explained that withdrawing Nitish Kumar Reddy from the T20 setup and the Asian Games squad will provide him with valuable game time during India's upcoming ODI series against the West Indies. He emphasised that developing seam-bowling all-rounders remains a major priority ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup and India's upcoming tour of South Africa.

"From Nitish's point of view, it's actually a great thing that he's been withdrawn from the T20 format, and he'll get game time against the West Indies as well. 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," Gambhir said during the post-match press conference.

(With inputs from ANI)