Hardik Pandya makes BCCI facility in Bengaluru his training base:First Indian cricketer do so; all-rounder wants to play for ‘5-6 years’

Hardik Pandya has permanently shifted from Mumbai to Bengaluru and made the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s CoE (Centre of Excellence) his permanent training base. Indian cricketers generally visit the CoE for injury recuperation, national camps or assessment of fitness, but Pandya, in a first, has made the facility his permanent training base. Pandya has been out of action since IPL 2026, where he and his team, the Mumbai Indians (MI), had a forgettable time. The five-time champions finished in ninth spot on the points table, recording just four wins out of 10 matches. ‘Hardik Pandya wanted to move out of Mumbai’ As per a PTI report, the all-rounder wanted to move out of Mumbai in a bid to aid his training. Pandya hails from Baroda in Gujarat but has been living in Mumbai for a considerable period of time while using MI’s training facility in Ghansoli to train. “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,” the report quoted a BCCI source as saying. “Hardik wanted to move out of Mumbai as commuting every day from his Lower Parel residence for training had become a problem. As a centrally-contracted cricketer, he has access to every facility at the COE, from injury management to skills training,” the source added, stating that the BCCI facility would be his training base whenever he is not playing in the IPL, for the Indian team or domestic cricket. The 32-year-old would also have his personal physiotherapist and personal Strength and Conditioning (SC) coach. ‘Hardik Pandya wants to play for five-six years’ Pandya was ruled out of the ODI series against Afghanistan due to a quadriceps strain and is also not part of the UK tour. His rehab is ongoing. The source, which was quoted earlier, also shared that Pandya incurs expenses for his skill training at CoE. “It is like shifting his base to Bengaluru as long as he plays white-ball cricket for India, and he intends to play for at least another five to six years. Even when he does skill work, such as batting against net bowlers hired by the COE, Hardik pays them from his own pocket,” shared the source. While the timeline of his recovery is not yet clear, Pandya could make a return to the national team in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, which comprises three matches and would be played between 23 to 26 July. Pandya’s move comes amid uncertain MI future This move comes amidst growing speculations on Pandya’s future with the Mumbai Indians, with strong reports linking him with a move away from the franchise. A PTI report earlier stated that Pandya was ‘mentally stressed’ and ‘completely exhausted’ with MI and is set to leave the franchise. “Once the play-off hopes were dashed, Hardik informed the decision-makers that he wouldn’t be staying back,” the report had quoted an IPL source. Another PTI report stated that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) held talks with MI over signing Pandya. In November 2023, Pandya made a blockbuster return to MI from the Gujarat Titans (a team he captained to the IPL title in 2022), but the move has not yielded much fruit for either of the two parties. The Mumbai Indians made him captain and under his leadership, the team qualified for the playoffs just once in three seasons.