WTC Final 2023: India will go into their second WTC Final with Shardul Thakur as the only seam-bowling all-rounder. While Shardul has established himself as a crucial member of the Test team, Ricky Ponting believes India are missing an X-Factor like Hardik Pandya against Australia, especially in seaming conditions. Hardik has made a great return to bowling since his return from injury and is in a good batting form as well. Follow India vs Australia World Test Championship Final LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
“I thought about the other day for India in this game is how valuable someone like Hardik Pandya could be in a one-off Test match. I know he is on record saying that the Test match game is probably a little bit hard on his body. But for a one-off game… he’s been bowling every game through this IPL and he’s bowling quick,” the former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said.
Hardik Pandya last played a Test match back in 2018 in England. Since then back injury troubles have prevented him from playing red-ball cricket.
“He (Pandya) could be that X-factor there just to pick in a one-off game, come in and see what he can do with bat and ball. He could be the difference between the two teams,” Ponting added.
Pandya has himself clarified that he is not considering a return to Test at this point with the Test team already settled.
“If I want to play Test cricket, I will go through the grind, I will earn my position and then come back. For that reason, to be very honest, I will not be available or play the World Test Championship Final, or any future Test matches until I feel that I have earned my spot,” Pandya said before IPL 2023.
But Ponting felt Pandya could have played in the winner-takes all clash at The Oval from June 7-11. Primarily because he has bowled in more or less every game in the just-concluded IPL for Gujarat Titans which he captains.
The 29-year-old Pandya has played in 11 Tests till now after making his debut in 2017, scoring 532 runs at an average of 31.29 with one hundred and four fifties. He has taken 17 wickets at an average of 31.05.
In the 74 ODIs he has played so far, Pandya has scored 1584 runs at an average of 33.00 and taken 72 wickets. In the T20Is, he has scored 1271 runs from 87 matches and scalped 69 wickets.
Pandya led Gujarat Titans to maiden IPL triumph in 2022 but lost to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in this season’s final on Monday.
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