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Hardik Pandya (Source-News18)
It has been over 6 years since India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya made his Test debut for India. The 30-year-old was recently seen bowling with a red ball in England. This has now created a huge frenzy amongst the Indian cricket fans. The last time Pandya was part of the Test squad was in 2021 for the home series against England.
Due to a variety of injury issues, Pandya hasn’t played Test cricket. Many former cricketers have implored the cricketer to make his comeback to the longer format. If the 30-year-old is indeed ready for a Test comeback, he could be a huge X-factor during the Border-Gavaskar series.
— Aditya Desai (@aditya_three) September 12, 2024
Team India have reached Chennai for the first Test to be played against Bangladesh. The two-match series is set to start on the 19th of September. The 2nd Test is to be held in Kanpur before the two teams play a three-match T20I series.
Can Hardik Pandya make comeback to Test cricket?
Team India have missed the services of a genuine seam-bowling all-rounder in recent times. Shardul Thakur has done a decent job with the bat and ball in the limited chances he has got in Test cricket. But Hardik Pandya’s return to the Test format will be a huge bonus for the Indian, especially with two huge away tours lined up.
Rohit Sharma and his team are also on the cusp of making their third successive World Test Championships finals. The 30-year-old can also play a key role in helping India win the only silverware that is missing from their cabinet.
Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar during a chat with RevSportz had said "Yes, absolutely, they can. I think in the next two months, there should be an attempt to convince Hardik Pandya to play Test cricket. If he bowls ten overs a day to go with his batting, this Indian team could become invincible, and they can surely go on and win the WTC and beat Australia in Australia,"
Gautam Gambhir who became the coach of the Indian team had said that he wants to see players play all the formats. During a chat with Star Sports, the former Indian opener said “I am a very strong believer in one thing, that if you are good, you should be playing all the three formats. I have never been a big believer of injury management. You got injured, you go and recover. As simple as it gets.”