Renowned cricketer Ricky Ponting believes that India missed an opportunity by not selecting Hardik Pandya for their World Test Championships final against Australia in London. Ponting, in his article for the ICC Review, emphasized Pandya’s all-round abilities, which he believes could have been the decisive factor in the one-off game.
Although Pandya has refrained from playing Test matches since 2018 due to ongoing fitness concerns, Ponting argued that the winner-takes-all clash at The Oval from June 7-11 warranted Pandya’s inclusion. The batting legend pointed out that Pandya had been consistently bowling during the recent IPL matches for the Gujarat Titans, where he serves as captain.
“I thought about that the other day, for India in this game… how valuable someone like Hardik Pandya could be in a one-off Test match,” Ponting expressed in his article, acknowledging Pandya’s reservations about the demands of Test cricket on his body. However, Ponting highlighted Pandya’s recent performance in the IPL, where he bowled in every game and showcased his speed.
During the IPL 2023, Pandya bowled a total of 25 overs for the Gujarat Titans, claiming three wickets. With the bat, he amassed 346 runs at an average of 31.45. As the former Australia captain and head coach of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, Ponting believed that Pandya could have been the X-factor for India in the WTC final, commencing on June 7.
“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 asserted.
While Pandya has played 11 Tests since his debut in 2017, scoring 532 runs with one century and four fifties, his average stands at 31.05 for the 17 wickets he has taken. Furthermore, in the 74 ODIs he has played, Pandya has contributed 1584 runs and secured 72 wickets. In T20Is, he has amassed 1271 runs from 87 matches and taken 69 wickets.
Although Pandya led the Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL triumph in 2022, his team narrowly lost to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in this season’s final on Monday.
