T20 World Cup: Hardik Pandya, ‘On national duty’, joins India in New York

Summary: Hardik Pandya, an Indian all-rounder, has joined the national team in New York ahead of the T20 World Cup warm-up match. 

Hardik Pandya, an Indian all-rounder, has joined the national team in New York ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match. While he did not travel with the first batch of the Indian delegation to the United States, he shared images after meeting up with the team. The team's vice captain shared the training pictures on Instagram.

Team India has begun preparations for the huge ICC event, with the goal of bringing the trophy home. India won the maiden T20 World Cup under MS Dhoni's leadership in 2007 but has failed to defend the title since.

This will be Hardik's first appearance for the national squad since the ODI World Cup in 2023. Hardik stumbled on his bowling mark during the World Cup match against Bangladesh and damaged his ankle. 

The all-rounder skipped series against Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan to focus solely on the Indian Premier League. Pandya will be aiming to improve his situation after his experience with MI.

This year has been tough for MI skipper Hardik Pandy. Be it the poor performance of the Mumbai Indians under his captaincy or his personal life, recently we heard the divorce rumors about him and his wife, Natasha Stankovic. The couple got married in 2020 and had a son the same year. 

Though none of them have confirmed the rumors, Natasha has been posting some cryptic stories on her Instagram. Earlier, she posted a story on Instagram with the traffic signs and wrote, “Someone is about to get on the streets," and recently, she posted a video of her on the Bandra-Worli Sea link with the caption, “Praise God.” 

India is to continue their warm-up game before the T20 World Cup on June 1 against Bangladesh. The entire team is likely to be available for the game.