Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri has made a shocking statement on Hardik Pandya’s future in Test cricket, saying that the star all-rounder should now concentrate more on limited-overs cricket.
Hardik Pandya showed great captaincy skills for Gujarat Titans (GT) as well as Team India in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Impressed by this, Ravi Shastri said that Hardik should take over the limited-overs captaincy of India after the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Hardik Pandya will never return to Test cricket: Ravi Shastri
Meanwhile, former India coach Shastri has categorically said that it is unlikely that Hardik Pandya will ever make a comeback to Test cricket, and according to him, it is never going to happen as the Indian all-rounder’s body cannot take the strain of the longer format of the game. Hardik has already been playing consistent cricket for the last year after recovering from a back injury, and given his injury history, he might not want to take a chance on red-ball cricket.
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Ravi Shastri was quoted as saying by The Week: “It should be absolutely clear to all of us that Hardik Pandya’s body cannot take the toll of Test cricket, so any talk of him returning to this format is pointless. I think after the ODI World Cup 2023, he should take over the captaincy of India in limited-overs cricket if his body is fit and can take the load.”
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The cricket commentator further said, ‘There is no doubt that Rohit Sharma will lead India in the World Cup 2023, but after that, it is Pandya’s turn’. Let us tell you, Hardik Pandya played the last Test match in the year 2018 in England. He has taken 532 runs and 17 wickets in 11 Test matches for Team India.
