Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has urged Hardik Pandya to make a return to Test cricket. Pandya last played a Test match for India in 2018 against England at the Oval. Subsequently, Pandya suffered a horrific back injury and later admitted his body isn’t ready for the adversities of Test cricket.
Recently, Pandya was asked about his availability for the World Test Championship final against Australia and he said it won’t be fair on players who are consistently playing for the national team in the red-ball format.
Since the back injury, Pandya has only played in limited-overs format and he has managed his bowling workload with guile. In the recently concluded IPL 2023, in which Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans to the final of the tournament, the all-rounder bowled a total of 25 overs in 11 innings, taking a total of only three wickets.
Pandya has focused on white-ball formats in the last five years but there is no doubt India needs an all-rounder like him in Test cricket, especially while playing in overseas conditions.
“India has enormous reserves. When you look at some of the performances. I don’t consider IPL performances if we are sticking to Test cricket. In domestic cricket, there are some fantastic players and you will only find out when you give them opportunities. Whether it be Jaiswal or Patidar, Abhimanyu Easwaran from Bengal scores a lot of runs. Shubman Gill is young, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and I hope Hardik Pandya is listening. I want to see him play Test cricket, especially in these conditions,” said Ganguly on India Today.
On the other hand, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli could not deliver the goods in the World Test Championship final against Australia. Ergo, there has been pressure piling on the duo but Ganguly feels the time has not come to look beyond these two veterans.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions due to just one loss, India will always have talent. And I don’t think it is time to look beyond Virat (Kohli) or (Cheteshwar) Pujara. Virat is just 34,” said Ganguly.
India will next tour West Indies for two Test matches, three ODIs, and five T20Is.
