Mumbai Indians, the reigning champions of the Indian Premier League, failed to make it to the playoffs in the 2021 season due to lack of form, various disruptions, and a series of ill-timed injuries that either ruled them out completely or limited their abilities on the field.

One of the biggest victims of such injuries for the Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has evidently been struggling with his lower back despite suffering a blow to it over three years ago and getting surgery back in 2019.

Surgery done successfully

Extremely grateful to everyone for your wishes Will be back in no time! Till then miss me pic.twitter.com/XrsB8bWQ35

Unable to gather the trust of the MI medical staff, Padya has not bowled even a single delivery for the franchise in the last two seasons of the IPL and has also shown a significant drop in his strike rate with the bat between 2020 and 2021.

Yet, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021, Pandya’s name was present in it, leading to the fans and critics doubting the kind of output he would be able to give at the big stage.

However, during the press conference after MI’s last match of the season, skipper Rohit Sharma gave an update on Pandya’s health and a potential timeline of him returning to bowling regularly.

"In terms of his bowling, he hasn't bowled yet. So, the physios, trainers and the medical team are working on his bowling. As of now, all I know is that he hasn't bowled a single ball yet but we wanted to take one game at a time and see where he stands."

According to Sharma, Pandya will be bowling “next week or so” while suggesting that he was under constant observation of the doctors in the United Arab Emirates.

"I personally have confidence in his ability. He is getting better every time he goes on to the field. A player like him is just an innings away from getting back to his own natural way and we have seen it in the past," he explained.

The International Cricket Council announced October 10, 2021, as the deadline for making changes to their teams, it is highly unlikely that Pandya will be dropped from the Men in Blue for the T20 World Cup.

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