Hardik Pandya delays India return, joins BCCI’s new Performance Block Programme

Hardik Pandya has decided not to rush his return to international cricket. Hardik Pandya has decided against playing in the upcoming ODI series in England, as India’s star all-rounder will now spend more time at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence and work on both his fitness and skills.

The BCCI has recently introduced a new program called the “performance block” for centrally contracted players. Earlier, BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru was mainly used for injury rehabilitation, but now international cricketers can visit at any time of the year to work on specific areas of their game with the help of dedicated coaches and support staff.

Hardik Pandya joins BCCI’s new performance block

As reported by the Times of India, Hardik Pandya has become one of the biggest names to join the BCCI’s new programme for the players. The all-rounder was reportedly bowling full 10-over spells at the centre of excellence earlier this month before suffering a quadriceps injury on June 9. Amid this, Hardik Pandya links force CSK to address IPL trade speculation.

The injury was expected to keep him out for around three weeks, and the selectors eventually snubbed Pandya for the England tour. However, Pandya himself contacted the BCCI to join the programme, as he is not to return to the Indian side without full fitness.

The BCCI source was quoted as saying by Times of India: ‘Hardik is very clear in his mind that he won’t take the field for India unless he is at the top of his game—both physically and cricket-wise. He doesn’t want to push himself and jeopardise his body with the ODI World Cup 16 months away. He contacted CoE and joined the performance block. He wants to work on specific cricket skills besides attaining prime fitness.”

BCCI launches “performance block” for centrally contracted players

The new program is different from the old system. Previously, injured players were declared fit mainly after medical assessments and a few match-simulation sessions. Now, players must also prove that they can perform their cricketing skills at the required level before getting clearance.

The source further added, “The CoE was largely a rehab centre for international cricketers. The cricketing programmes were restricted to age-group and zonal camps. Now, Indian players can come at any time and have very specialised sessions to work on minute things in their game. There will be a dedicated coaching staff working with the players. Also, under this programme, an injured player can only be cleared as fit to play for India if he is playing to his potential.”

No easy comeback for Hardik Pandya

Under the new performance block programme, injured fast bowlers will not be judged only on fitness. Their workload will be increased step by step, and coaches will closely monitor whether they can maintain their bowling quality under pressure.

If a bowler struggles to perform consistently, he won’t be able to return at that point. Currently, Hardik is focusing on both his batting and bowling according to the demands of 50-over cricket. He added, “Hardik hasn’t played a lot of 50-over cricket in the last two years. He needs to get certain aspects right before diving back into that format.”