Team India vice-captain and all-rounder Hardik Pandya began training with Team India after joining the squad in New York for the T20 World Cup 2024, slated to take place in the West Indies and USA on June 2.
Pandya wasn't part of the group that travelled to New York from Mumbai Airport. The star all-rounder was reportedly in London and joined the India squad later in New York. Hardik has been in the news of late for all the wrong reasons due to rumours about his divorce from his wife Natasa Stankovic.
Hardik Pandya has not spoken anything about the matter despite the speculations about the divorce rumours with Natasa Stankovic.
In a video shared by BCCI on its X handle (formerly Twitter), Hardik Pandya and his teammates were seeing training hard and playing session as part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup 2024. When Hardik Pandya asked about the vibe in New York, he said, "Very exciting to be in New York, has a good vibe and bright sun out."
Things haven't been going well with Hardik Pandya over the last a couple of months. Firstly, the all-rounder received backlash from the fans after he replaced five-time IPL-winning captain Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians skipper. Secondly, under the captaincy of Hardik, MI finished their IPL 2024 campaign at the bottom of the points table and failed to qualify for the playoffs. The all-rounder was under-par with the bat as he scored 216 runs at an average of 18 in 14 outings.
Thirdly, the divorce rumours with his wife Natasa Stankovic. The speculations suggested that Hardik and Natasa have been living separately. However, neither of them deleted their pictures from their Instagram handle.
Hardik Pandya will have a crucial to play in Team India's T20 World Cup campaign
Hardik Pandya will hope to fire up in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Though the star all-rounder might not have live up to the expectations in the recently concluded IPL 2024, he will be determined to put up impactful performances for the Men in Blue in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Pandya has been one of the go-to players whenever India were in the crunch situations in the major tournaments. Remember, how Hardik Pandya stepped up for the team and scored 40 off 37 balls while forming 113-run with Virat Kohli (82* off 53 balls) to lift India from 31/4 to 144/5.
In the last edition of the T20 World Cup, Pandya scored 128 runs, including a fifty, at an average of 25.06 and picked 8 wickets in six matches.
Team India will begin their campaign against Ireland at the newly built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 1.
