India captain Shubman Gill confirmed that he spoke to star allrounder Hardik Pandya, as he continues to recover from injuries ahead of the five-match ODI series against New Zealand. He also hinted that Hardik could feature in domestic cricket before making his return to international cricket in time for the World Cup next year as well.

“Firstly, he (Hardik) is a great player, you know the qualities that he brings to the team. Not many players in the world possess those qualities. To be able to have a fast bowling all-rounder, who can bowl at any facet of the game with the new ball, mid-overs and death overs; and the kind of batting he has,” Shubman Gill said in the pre-series press conference.

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“It’s been very unfortunate that he hasn’t been able to play since the IPL. And yes, we have had multiple conversations. He was supposed to play the India matches, but just before that he got some niggles again. So hopefully, he will be fit soon and will play some domestic cricket and then hopefully we will see him back in the side soon,” he further added.

In Hardik Pandya’s absence, Nitish Kumar Reddy is the only pace bowling all-rounder in India’s squad as well. He will be released from the ODIs after the opening match as he joins the red-ball setup to prepare for the upcoming two-match Test series, scheduled to begin on November 19 as well.