S Venkatapathy Raju, former India left-arm spinner and a national selector had highlighted that the absence of a fast-bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya will be felt in the all-important WTC final.
India and New Zealand will play the inaugural World Test Championship final on June 18 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. India and New Zealand are the best two Test sides in the world in terms of ICC rankings and the contest between is expected to be an exciting one.
S Venkatapathy Raju Feels Hardik Pandya Brings Balance Overseas And His Absence Will Be Felt
There are several match-winners in the team with the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ross Taylor while both nations are led by talismanic captains in Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. However, there is still one player namely Hardik Pandya that the Indian team will miss in the WTC final according to S Venkatapathy Raju, former spinner.
“New Zealand has good all-rounders. Their batting looks strong. Kyle Jamieson is in very good form with the red ball, getting wickets against India, West Indies, and Pakistan. Because of his height, he gets a good bounce and also gives an extra boost as an all-rounder. New Zealand has good fast bowling all-rounders while India has good spinning all-rounders. This is where Hardik brings the balance overseas and will his absence will be felt,” S Venkatapathy Raju told Sportskeeda.
Hardik Pandya was not a part of India’s 20-member main squad for the Test tour to England and given his inability to bowl in the longer format it might be the end of the road for Hardik Pandya the Test cricketer. Hardik Pandya is one of the most destructive batsmen for India in limited-overs cricket and an IPL great but has not necessarily been a regular in Test XI.
Hardik Pandya has decent returns in Tests – he has scored 532 runs in 11 Tests (18 innings) at an average of 31.29 at a strike rate of 73.88 with one hundred and four fifties and also picked 17 wickets at a bowling average of 31.05.
But soon after the England tour in 2018, Hardik Pandya suffered a series of lower back injuries which forced him to miss a number of series including the tour of the West Indies in 2019. This was a huge setback for Hardik Pandya the bowler and he was in no position to bowl long spells (or at all) with the red ball for India. Consequently, he has not played another Test for India since Southampton, 2018.
S Venkatapathy Raju: India Has A Good Pace Attack Under Conditions Aiding Pacers And Two Genuine Spin All Rounders
S Venkatapathy Raju also stated that India has covered all their bases with the amount of talent that is at its disposal currently. Regarding the 20 man squad for WTC Final and England Tests, there was also no place for all-rounder Hardik Pandya and wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav either, with Axar Patel being named as the third spinner after his heroics in the home series against England.
“India has got a good pace bowling attack under seaming conditions helpful. They also have the experience with Ishant Sharma having 302 Test wickets, Md Shami with 180 Test wickets, and Bumrah with 83. If the conditions are dry, India is well equipped with two genuine spinning all-rounders in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja came back after missing a major part of the Australia tour and showed in IPL that he was getting into a rhythm with his deadly all-around abilities. Also, when you have Umesh Yadav and Md Siraj, who has done brilliantly, sitting out, this is the best combination India has,” said S Venkatapathy Raju.
India comes into the WTC final on the back of scintillating Test series victories in Australia and against England at home. India kept their hopes alive of qualifying for the final with a stunning 2-1 win over Australia, achieved with a depleted team. Virat Kohli’s team toppled Joe Root’s men 3-1 to top the WTC points table with 72.2 per cent. New Zealand, who played only 11 matches in their WTC cycle, was second with 70 per cent.
Indian Probable XI for WTC final: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami