India qualified for the World Test Championship Final as they beat Australia 2-1 in the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy. The Rohit Sharma-led team will take on Australia in the summit clash in June. While the match is still far away, the team combination for the ultimate clash is already being worked out. Many former Indian cricketers have suggested possible playing XIs for India.
Meanwhile, India’s all-rounder Hardik Pandya was asked about his chances of playing in the WTC Final. The stand-in captain for the three-match ODI series said that he does not want to take anyone’s place in the playing XI as it will be ‘unethical’. Pandya also said that he wants to earn his place back in the Test setup.
“No. I am an ethically very strong person. I haven’t done 10% to reach there. I am not even a part of 1%. So me coming there and taking someone’s place will ethically not go well. If I want to play Test cricket, I’ll go through the grind and earn my spot. Hence, for that reason I will not be available for the WTC final or future Test series until I feel that I have earned my spot,” the swashbuckling batter told the media.
Notably, Pandya last played a Test for India way back in 2018, against England. The Baroda cricketer has played 11 Tests for India wherein he has scored 532 runs and has taken 17 wickets. However, ever since his comeback from the back injury, Pandya’s focus has been on white-ball cricket and he has made big strides in the two formats. While he is the current captain of India in T20Is, he has been appointed as India’s vice-captain in ODIs.
