Sourav Ganguly Urges Hardik Pandya To Play Test Cricket For India, Says ‘Hope He Is Listening’
New Delhi: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has urged star all-rounder Hardik Pandya to play Test cricket for the national team. Pandya last played red-ball cricket for India was in 2018 and since then had a host of injuries that kept him out of action for quite some time.
The 29-year-old returned to competitive cricket with in Indian Premier League last year and led debutants Gujarat Titans to title in their inaugural season. In IPL 2023, Pandya’s Gujarat Titans finished runners-up after losing the final to Chennai Super Kings.
“I hope Hardik Pandya is listening. I want to see him play Test cricket, especially in these conditions,” Ganguly was quoted as saying in Royal Challengers Bangalore website. So far, Pandya has played 11 Tests for India.
Following India’s loss to Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final few days ago, talks were on high that India should look beyond some of the senior players in the team and inject fresh blood and groom them for the next WTC cycle.
Ganguly felt it wouldn’t be wise for the Indian team and urged the selectors to have faith in the seniors. “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,” said the former BCCI president.
However, Ganguly mentioned that the selectors should keep a tab on certain youngsters and can introduce them in near future. “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 Jaiswal or Patidar, Abhimanyu Easwaran from Bengal scores a lot of runs. Shubman Gill is young, there is Ruturaj Gaikwad too,” he added.