Hardik Pandya released from Test squad to participate in Vjay Hazare Trophy

Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been released by the team management from the Test squad to let him take part in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy which began yesterday across five centres in the nation. Pandya wasn’t a part of the playing XI in Pune where India was humiliated by Australia by a convincing margin of 333 runs.

The 2nd Test scheduled to be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru starts from March 4 which means Hardik will have enough time to play a couple of Vijay Hazare ties before returning to the squad ahead of the 2nd Test. Hardik played the opening game of the tournament for Baroda but failed to make a mark as he was dismissed for only 4 runs.

Pandya who is yet to make his debut in the longest format of the game has already established himself as an important member of the Indian limited overs set up and is the best fast bowling all-rounder available in the nation. After a lacklustre performance from India in the opening Test against Australia, the team management might be tempted to give Pandya his maiden Test cap in Bengaluru in a week’s time.

Pandya made his international debut against Australia in the T20I series earlier in 2016 where he performed pretty well to leave an impression on the selectors. He played the subsequent Asia Cup T20 after a few months where he was the star performer for India with the ball in hand against their arch-rivals Pakistan.

Also read: Uttarakhand government allegedly paid Virat Kohli Rs 47.19 crores from flood relief fund

Pandya finally broke into the ODI squad during the series against New Zealand which India narrowly won by a 3-2 margin. He bagged 3 wickets in his opening game to start off his ODI career with a bang. In 7 ODI’s so far Pandya has bagged 9 wickets and has scored 160 runs at an average of over 50.