Bengaluru, July 1:
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has shifted base to Bengaluru with the aim of making the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (COE) his permanent training base for the remainder of his career, becoming the first prominent current India cricketer to do so.
The move is unique as India’s centrally-contracted players normally visit the Centre of Excellence (COE) only for injury rehabilitation, fitness assessments or national camps.
Though Pandya is originally from Baroda in Gujarat, he has spent most of the last decade living in Mumbai and training primarily at his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians’ facility in Ghansoli.
The 32-year-old, who is currently recovering from a quadriceps injury and was ruled out of the ongoing white-ball tour of UK, has spent considerable time at the COE over the last six months.
“Hardik has already permanently shifted to Bengaluru. He has rented a property on the outskirts of the city, close to the COE. He will be the first Indian cricketer to make the COE his permanent training base for the remainder of his career,” a BCCI source said on conditions of anonymity.