"Am Turtle, Not A Rabbit...": Hardik Pandya's Unique Response To Bowling Workload Question Ahead Of World Cup

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya said that he is ready to take up a significantly higher bowling workload as he builds towards the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at home from October 5 to November 19, but added that he is still "a turtle, not a rabbit".  The all-rounder is currently with India's white-ball squad for series in West Indies, he had a full two months off after Indian Premier League (IPL) concluded on May 29. In this period, he "switched off" for a month and underwent physical conditioning for three weeks at the National Cricket Academy where there was equal focus on both skill and fitness.

Ahead of the series, he had said that he had informed the management of his keenness to play if he could contribute with the ball too.

In the IPL 2023, Pandya bowled 25 overs in 16 matches for runners-up Gujarat Titans. Across 2 ODIs in the Windies, Pandya has bowled a total of 9.4 overs. In the first match, he opened the bowling and was required for only three overs which saw only 45.5 overs being bowled. In the second match, he bowled 6.4 overs and went wicketless in the match, which West Indies won to level the series.

He led the side in place of a rested Rohit Sharma in the 2nd ODI. Pandya talked about how he is slowly increasing his bowling workload with the World Cup on his mind. After this series against the Windies, his next 50-over assignment is likely to be the Asia Cup from August 30 onwards. In between, he will lead India in the T20I series against West Indies, starting from August 3 onwards.

"My body is fine. I have to bowl more overs and get my workload up for the World Cup. I am a turtle right now, not a rabbit and hoping everything goes right as the World Cup comes on," said Pandya as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

On