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India’s defeat at the World Test Championship Final 2023 has put the Rohit Sharma-led squad on the radar of several big names from the Indian cricket fraternity. Many India greats feel it is the right time to call youngsters to play for the Indian squad, and one such name that has been urged to play for India in the longest format is Hardik Pandya.
Pandya led his team Gujarat Titans to the finals of the Indian Premier League twice and won the trophy once in two seasons since the franchise was formed. Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly believes that Hardik Pandya can be a good addition to the team.
Also read: Sourav Ganguly likely to replace Ricky Ponting as Delhi Capitals coach.
Ganguly, who led the Indian cricket renaissance in the new century said in an interview with India Today, "I hope Hardik Pandya is listening. I want to see him play Test cricket, especially in these conditions." Pandya has not played a Test match since 2018 and has opted to sit out of the format citing fitness issues. The former Indian skipper went on to say that Indian management should refrain from taking decisions based on one single match.
Ganguly added, "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."
The former BCCI president further said, "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 Yashasvi Jaiswal or Rajat Patidar. Abhimanyu Easwaran from Bengal scores a lot of runs. Shubman Gill is young as is Ruturaj Gaikwad."
Ganguly’s opinion echoes that of the former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who said that Hardik Pandya’s all-round skills could help India. Ponting said, "I know he is on record saying that the Test match game is probably a little bit hard on his body. But for a one-off game… he’s been bowling every game through this IPL and he’s bowling quick. He (Pandya) could be that X-factor there just to pick in a one-off game, come in and see what he can do with bat and ball. He could be the difference between the two teams."
Notably, India lost their second consecutive WTC Final against Australia this yeatr, after having lost it to New Zealand in 2021.