Delhi: The issue of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya playing Test was put on the back burner, but Hardik Pandya is such a cricketer that he is needed again and again for Team India in Tests. Once again, especially when the team is going through a period of change, this issue has come up again. Now it is even being said that since he is fit and playing, convince him to play the Test. A single all-rounder can give amazing balance to the team and hence he is needed in the team.

Search for balance in test team

The current condition of India’s red-ball setup is not hidden from anyone. Now they are not able to win the Test series even on their own pitches and India is in a ‘laggard’ position in the race to play the final in the current round of the World Test Championship. The pressure is increasing on captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir to get the World Test Championship campaign back on track. One after the other retirement of senior players and India’s defeat against New Zealand and South Africa, the lack of balance, dedication and experience in the team was most exposed and an experienced fast bowling all-rounder can be the answer to many of these questions. Names are coming to the fore from domestic cricket too (an unsuccessful attempt was made to get Nitish Kumar fit too) but Hardik Pandya has the experience, the hunger to win and the right temperament for big matches. He can play the role of ‘Ben Stokes’ for the team.

Special facts to Hardik Pandya’s Test career:

• Hardik Pandya last played Test cricket in 2018 and after that he himself withdrew from playing Tests due to fitness and workload issues.
• When he returned fit, he became a specialist in white-ball cricket. During this time he never mentioned that he was struggling due to not being able to play Test cricket.
• At present, his absence is being felt in the current Test setup of Team India and it seems that there is no better option than him to bat at number 7.
• Anyway, in the current Test strategy of Team India, the way the dependence on seam-bowling all-rounders has increased, Pandya fits into it.
• Has played only 11 Tests since debut in 2017: 532 runs, including one 100, and 17 wickets, with a best performance of 5/28. His record of 100 and 5 wickets proves that he can win test matches with both bat and ball.
• Among those who took at least 15 wickets in their first 11 Tests, only Dattu Phadkar (682), Manoj Prabhakar (593), R Ashwin (567) and Washington Sundar (545) scored more runs for India than Hardik Pandya’s 532.
• Of the six other Indian seam-bowling all-rounders (Kapil Dev, Irfan Pathan, Manoj Prabhakar, Lala Amarnath, Gulab Rai Ramchand and Ajit Agarkar) who have taken at least one 100 and one five-wicket haul, none have been better than Pandya in batting and bowling averages.

It is visible that Hardik Pandya is happy playing white-ball cricket, so the realization within him that Test cricket needs him can only convince him to play Test for the country’s team again.