Former India player Mohammad Kaif has raised concerns over Team India’s growing injury list while also discussing Hardik Pandya’s fitness. He said this after India’s warm-up game against SLC XI and ahead of the opening Test against Sri Lanka, scheduled to start on August 15 in Galle as well. However, Hardik has not played competitive cricket since IPL 2026 and he has been at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) while undergoing rehabilitation for a left quadriceps and calf injury setback as well.
Speaking during a discussion on his YouTube channel (Mohammad Kaif), the veteran said: “Look at Hardik Pandya. For how long has he been dealing with injuries? He plays, then gets injured again. Several of our players have a history of injuries. So, somewhere, there is a major problem. We have to recognise this as a serious problem. First, we have to accept that this can make us lose a World Cup. It can make us lose a series. If a player is not fit at the right time, we have to acknowledge that first. Then we need to work on it.”
“As I said, it is a valid point. Matches are being played every month. There is some match going on almost every second week. So, sometimes players also rush their return because they don’t want to stay out for too long and risk someone else taking their place. They think, ‘What if someone else comes in and takes my spot?’ That is where a good physiotherapist, proper guidance and a good trainer who trains the player correctly can make a difference. Sometimes, injuries can also happen because of overtraining,” he again stated.
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“Still, I am saying that you don’t need a trainer with half knowledge, and you don’t need a physiotherapist with half knowledge either. If someone doesn’t know enough, they may not interfere when they should. And if they do interfere, their complete background and experience become very important. People who have a history of treating injuries, who have worked for years and dealt with different kinds of injuries, and who have spent time working with players are extremely valuable. Those are the kind of people who can make a real difference,” he further added.
However, Mohammad Kaif opined on Rishabh Pant, stating that Pant is going through a difficult phase. Pant has been out of the ODI and T20I squad and has also endured challenging campaigns in the last two IPL seasons as well. However, Kaif commented on Pant’s record in Tests, where he has established himself as a genuine match-winner.
“You know, his name isn’t really coming up in the Indian team in the other formats. He hasn’t been playing ODIs, his name hasn’t been coming up in T20Is, and he had a difficult time in the IPL as well. So, I understand that this is a difficult phase for him. But I look at him a little differently in Test cricket. Considering what he is capable of in Tests, I would still back him. So, when you have a player who has genuinely been a match-winner for India, I want to wait for another one or two Test matches and see how he responds,” he added.
“I understand that there is pressure. There is a lot of pressure on him, and his name hasn’t been in the headlines as much. And whenever there has been discussion about him, it has mostly been for negative reasons. Whether you talk about the IPL, where he was captain and received a big amount of money, but the performance wasn’t as good as expected and the team finished lower down the table, that is what people have been discussing. He hasn’t made a comeback in ODIs, his name isn’t coming up in T20Is, so most of the discussion around him has been negative. But even then, I still consider him as big a player in Test cricket as he has always been,” Mohammad Kaif concluded.
