The recent ICC World Test Championship final featuring Australia and India ended in a disappointing defeat for the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side. Despite mounting a comeback on Day 3 and 4 after trailing in the first innings at The Oval, India faced a collapse in the first session of Day 5, resulting in a 209-run loss.
In the aftermath of India’s defeat, there have been numerous speculations regarding what went wrong with the team’s performance. While some cricket analysts and former players criticized the Indian team, others offered advice on team selection and improvement. Adding to the discussion, former India captain Sourav Ganguly emphasized the importance of not drawing conclusions based on a single failure. Ganguly expressed that it would be unfair to overlook great players like Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara based on the recent result.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions due to just one loss, India will always have talent. And I don’t think it is time to look beyond Virat (Kohli) or (Cheteshwar) Pujara. Virat is just 34. India has enormous reserves. When you look at some of the performances. I don’t consider IPL performances if we are sticking to Test cricket. In domestic cricket there are some fantastic players and you will only find out when you give them opportunities. Whether it be Jaiswal or Patidar, Abhimanyu Easwaran from Bengal scores a lot of runs,” Ganguly stated during an interview with India Today.
Ganguly also expressed his desire to see Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya return to India’s Test team. He believes that India possesses exceptional players who could play crucial roles in the red-ball format, and Pandya would be a great fit for the Test squad, especially in conditions like those in England. “Shubman Gill is young, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and I hope Hardik Pandya is listening. I want to see him play Test cricket, especially in these conditions,” Ganguly added.
Currently, Hardik Pandya, 29 years old, has accumulated 532 runs in 11 Test matches, with an average of 31.29. He has scored four half-centuries and one hundred while also taking 17 wickets, including a five-wicket haul.
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