Sunil Gavaskar endorses Hardik Pandya's Inclusion in IND's Test Team to be 'INVINCIBLES' in Red Ball

Hardik Pandya is one of the players who helped India win the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024. Pandya played a key role in beating South Africa in the final by 7 runs to end India's ICC trophy drought on June 29, 2024. Despite being under scrutiny during the IPL 2024 season, where he was ‘booed’ by the Mumbai Indians fans after MI finished last under their new captain. Hardik Pandya has again made his name at the top and is anticipated to continue to play a key role for the Indian cricket team owing to his all-rounding skills.

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Sunil Gavaskar endorses Hardik Pandya to play ‘red-ball’ cricket with the Indian cricket team 

Believing his readmission will make India invincible in the longest form, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has fervently supported the possible comeback of all-rounder Hardik Pandya into the Test cricket team. Gavaskar regards Pandya as a major personality that could bring India's first World Test Championship (WTC) championship as well as major wins in Australia. Pandya has been sidelined from red-ball cricket for almost six years since last playing a Test for India against England back in 2018. Speaking to the RevSports, Sunil Gavaskar said: 

“I'm hoping that, in these next two months, there will be some effort made to try and convince Hardik Pandya to come back to Test cricket,”

“If he starts batting at no. 6 or 7, maybe bowling just ten overs a day, but there with his batting, this Indian team will be pretty much invincible in any country, on any kind of surface.”

Having hit 523 runs and taken 17 wickets in 11 Test matches for India, Hardik Pandya has He recently helped India to prevail in the T20 World Cup by contributing 11 wickets and 144 runs. Although Pandya’s performances in ODIs and T20Is have established him as a match-winner in the shorter formats of the game, it remains to be seen whether the team management would follow his advise and bring him back into Test cricket as India will now be seen in action under the new head coach, Gautam Gambhir.

Three October matches against New Zealand and a demanding four-Test series against Australia in late November comprise India's forthcoming Test calendar. Gavaskar believes Pandya's all-around performance might revolutionise India in these pivotal games.