The Indian team coach Anil Kumble has tagged Hardik Pandya as a special talent and said in the quest to nurture his dual ability to impress with both ball and bat, the management has pushed him in the mix of Test cricket.
Having picked up earlier for the Tests against England, Hardik sustained a shoulder injury and was ruled out for six weeks. Now again, the all-rounder has been picked up for the one-off Test against Bangladesh.
Speaking to the media, former captain Kumble said Pandya hasn’t been tested well but believes the Baroda-born would only excel in the longer day format if granted an opportunity. The leg-spinner who took ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan on this day (February 7) in 1999 claimed he (Pandya) would be lethal in foreign conditions where ball and pitch will assist the seam bowlers.
“Yes he is not really tested in the longer format but we certainly believe that if he is part of the mix and whenever the opportunity comes if we try him out, then in the future, when we travel outside India, he is someone you look at. So it is important to keep players with that ability to be in the mix. That is one of the reasons he is in the squad.”
Admiring his skill set to speed up to 140kph and bat in aggressively in the middle order, the leg-spinner said Hardik is a rare talent in India and should be taken care properly.
“We certainly want to keep Hardik in the mix because he is someone who has the ability to become a good all-rounder even in the longer format. That is one of the reasons we have pushed Hardik (into Test squad). It is very rare when someone can run in and bowl close to 140 (kph) and bat in the middle order, lower middle order. That is the ability that Hardik brings in.”
With a historic Test match happening in two days time from now on February 9 in Hyderabad, it would be exciting to see will Hardik Pandya makes his debut and if he does, then who would be replacing in the team? Only time will tell.