The flamboyant Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya will soon be sen with the Indian squad for the Boxing Day Test against Australia, which begins on December 26 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The all-rounder scored a half-century and took seven wickets against Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy Group A match at the Wankhede Stadium in his first competitive game since returning from a back injury which kept him on the sidelines for three months. Now, he has been included the Indian team for the last two Tests in Australia. AS per the reports in Times of India, after the draw game against Mumbai Baroda captain, Kedar Devdhar said. “He’s not available for our next game, as he’s going to Australia.”
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Pandya injured his back during the Asia Cup in September. In this match, he bowled 18.5 overs in the first innings to claim 5-81 and then batted patiently for 137 balls in scoring 73. In the second innings, he bowled 10 overs to claim two for 21. Interestingly, he bowled only four overs on the morning of the fourth and final day, before leaving the field for good.
Hardik had opted to play the Ranji Trophy over the one-day games on the India ‘A’ in New Zealand or the Emerging Trophy in Sri Lanka to prove his fitness in the longer format. In 11 Tests, he’s taken 17 wickets at a decent average of 31.05 and scored 532 runs at a below-par average of 31.29. Apparently, he was asked by the selectors and the team management to prove his fitness by playing for Baroda in this Ranji match, which was attended by the national selector and former India off-spinner Sarandeep Singh. Sarandeep was seen having a long chat with Pandya after play on Day One.
Pandya’s included in the squad will provide more balance to the Indian team. In his absence, they have chosen to play both the Tests with four specialist bowlers, which at Perth, India had to play without a specialist spinner. This factor has also increased the workload on the bowlers. With Ravichandran Ashwin also been unfit, and Pandya coming in, India can now drop one pacer and opt for a specialist spinner in Kuldeep Yadav or Ravindra Jadeja. His batting ability and electric fielding could be useful to the team too.
