Playing Test cricket will be a challenge for me: Hardik Pandya

A couple of years ago, Hardik Pandya was looked up as an all-rounder for the Indian Test squad. He made his debut in 2017 and after that made a few regular appearances in the red-ball cricket. However, his Test career was cut short due to an injury which he suffered back in 2018.

After the tough tour of England in 2018, Hardik was called up for the Asia Cup in the UAE. During the match against Pakistan, while bowling, he lost his balance and fell down. This caused him a back injury. Last year, after the World Cup in England, the Baroda player had to take some time off cricket to have surgery on his back.

In a recently released interview to Cricbuzz, Pandya has revealed that due to this surgery it will be difficult for him to make a comeback in Test cricket.

I know my importance in white-ball cricket, says Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has played 11 Tests until now scoring 532 runs with a century and four fifties. He also picked up 18 wickets during his short Test career. The all-rounder, during the conversation, explained that he wants to prolong his white-ball stay with the Indian team which might force him to avoid playing Test cricket. He was last picked up for the Test squad during the Australia tour in 2018-19.

“I see myself as a back-up seamer for sure. After my back surgery, I don’t know, playing Test cricket right now will be a challenge,” the 26-year-old said. “If I was a Test player and didn’t have the game in white-ball cricket, I could go now and risk my back in Tests but I know my importance in white-ball cricket. It has happened that I played Tests and then didn’t do well in ODIs and T20s because my plus point is my energy,” he explained.

Talking about his injury back in the Asia Cup 2018, Hardik Pandya said that he thought his career was over. The Baroda player had to be stretchered as he was unable to walk. “I genuinely thought that my career is over because I’d never seen anyone being stretchered off. I was knocked out for 10 minutes, after that the pain never went down.

“What happens to me is that my body goes into recovery mode straight away… Asia Cup was anyway going to be my last series before being rested but then the injury happened,” he recalled.