Hardik Pandya was left out of the Indian cricket team for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand as well as the five Tests against England.
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The India squad for the ICC World Test Championship final and the five Tests against England consisted of few surprises. Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Prithvi Shaw were not selected. However, it was the omission of Hardik Pandya that raised some concerns about his future in the Indian cricket team for Tests.
Hardik Pandya’s last Test was against England in Southampton in 2018, the venue for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand. On that tour, Hardik took 5/28 and played a vital role in India’s win in Trent Bridge. However, in the Asia Cup, he suffered a back injury that required surgery. From that point on, Hardik has not done much bowling. Former India opener and current commentator Aakash Chopra said that with Hardik not bowling much, his chances of coming into the Test team are very minimal.
“Hardik had given a statement that he does not want to play Test cricket at the moment because the situation of his back is very bad and he doesn’t want to bowl. So, this is a statement on Hardik Pandya’s immediate Test career. He will not be considered now, which is completely understandable if he is not bowling,” Chopra said.
In three years, Hardik has bowled four full overs in Twenty20 Internationals only seven times. In IPL 2020, he did not bowl at all. Neither in IPL 2021. In ODIs, he bowled regularly against New Zealand and the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
In fact, his last full quota of 10 overs was in the semifinal against New Zealand in Old Trafford. Hardik has bowled his full quota only seven times in three years. In 2020, he bowled once and got the wicket of Steve Smith in Sydney. In 2021, during the Pune ODI, he bowled nine overs for 48 runs against England.
The second factor is the problem of plenty in Indian cricket in the Test arena. India have six quality pace bowlers in Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and T Natarajan. In bowling all-rounders, they have Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar.
The opening combination is settled with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. The middle-order has Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari. In the current Indian team, getting a spot for Hardik will be very difficult.
Unless Hardik starts bowling long spells, his return to the Test team will not be possible. His back situation is very dodgy. Hardik has age on his side and he will be hoping that he can overcome his back problems.
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