“There should be an attempt to convince Hardik Pandya to play Test cricket”- Sunil Gavaskar believes all-rounder key for India to win WTC title

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar believes Hardik Pandya could play a key role for India in the World Test Championship title. India qualified for the final of the WTC in the last two cycles but failed to cross the last hurdle against New Zealand and Australia.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya scored 144 runs in six innings at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151.57 in the recently concluded T20I showpiece. Pandya also scalped 11 wickets in eight matches at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.61 and thus played an instrumental role in taking India to glory.

Pandya last played a Test match for India in 2018 against England at the Oval. Subsequently, Pandya suffered a horrific back injury and later admitted his body wasn’t ready for the adversities of Test cricket. 

With the next WTC Final set to be hosted by Lord’s in 2025, a seam bowling all-rounder can certainly make a lot of difference.

Sunil Gavaskar said on RevSportz, “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.”

On the other hand, Gavaskar also hailed Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. The Little Master, who is celebrating his 75th birthday today, said the leadership is a pleasure for players like MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.

“There are some captains for whom it is the pleasure of captaincy. Rohit and MS Dhoni belong to that category. There are others for whom it is the pressure of captaincy. I was in that category. That Rohit is relaxed and enjoys captaincy makes him the captain that he is. I love the way he leads his team and his body language,” said Gavaskar.

India is currently at the top of the standings in the WTC 2023-25 cycle with six wins in nine Test matches.