Indian daunting all-rounder Hardik Pandya Plans to retire from the Test format of Cricket. The Indian cricketer is mulling over his longest format career. The reports suggest that Hardik might plan to bid adieu to Test cricket to focus solely on the white ball games.
Hardik Pandya’s entry to the Indian national team was a boon for the team and country. He showed promising signs with his sheer consistency and hard-hitting abilities at the death overs. Pandya became the most sought all-rounder in no time owing to his on-field brilliance with both ball and bat.
However, an unfortunate injury dragged him back to square one. Hardik sustained a serious back injury back in 2019 and since then he has not been able to prove himself fit completely.
Hardik was part of India’s T20I World Cup squad but only as a batsman. He expressed his incapability to bowl during the first match against Pakistan and invited the criticism. He did bowl a few overs in the next match but he could not do miracles for India. He was centred with the outrage from social media for not informing BCCI and the selectors about his fitness.
“He has been struggling with injuries for a while and although he hasn’t informed us officially, he is considering Test retirement. It will help him keep his focus on white-ball cricket. He was anyway not in our plans for Tests. It will be a great loss for sure but we have to prepare backup,” a top BCCI official told InsideSport.
It is highly unlikely for Hardik to revert back to his prime fitness. If he can’t bowl long spell in Test matches, he can’t be as destructive as he was once upon a time.
Due to his recurring back injury, Hardik has been dropped from the Indian squad. He has no longer a part of the Test squad while his position in the limited-overs squad doesn’t look secure as well.
Junior Pandya was immediately dropped from the white-ball squad following the completion of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Recently, his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) also released him to the IPL 2022 Mega Auction due to a dip in his form. He played as a batsman in entre IPL 2020 and IPL 2021.
Currently, Hardik is undergoing extensive rehabilitation in Mumbai. He wants to get back in shape as soon as possible. He has also made himself unavailable for the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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