(Source X)
Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, marking his 75th birthday on Wednesday (July 10), expressed his desire for star all-rounder Hardik Pandya to resume playing Test cricket for India.
Gavaskar, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, believes Pandya’s inclusion could make the Indian team formidable, potentially leading to victories in the World Test Championship (WTC) and the upcoming Test series in Australia later this year. In an interview with Revsportz, the first batsman to reach 10,000 runs in Test cricket emphasized India’s capability to dominate the longer format, urging the BCCI to actively pursue Pandya’s return to Test cricket.
“Yes, absolutely, they can. I think in the next two months, there should be an attempt to convince Hardik Pandya to play Test cricket. If he bowls ten overs a day to go with his batting, this Indian team could become invincible, and they can surely go on and win the WTC and beat Australia in Australia,” Gavaskar stated.
India has reached the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) twice but unfortunately lost both times. Currently, under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, they occupy the top spot in the WTC 2023-25 points table. If they can secure victories against Bangladesh and New Zealand in home Test series, as well as against Australia away, India will qualify for their third consecutive WTC final.
The final of this ongoing WTC cycle is slated to be held at Lord’s next year.
Hardik Pandya, aged 30, has already captained India in 16 T20Is and is emerging as the frontrunner for the role of the new captain of the Indian men’s T20I team. He served as the deputy to Rohit Sharma during the T20 World Cup 2024 and is now considered the leading candidate for the position after Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the shortest format of the game following India’s victory in the final.
