Hardik Pandya Plans to Announce Test Retirement: Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya plans to retire from the Test format to stay focused on the white ball series, a report suggests.
Hardik Pandya Plans to Announce Test Retirement
Hardik Pandya started his career as a promising all-rounder for team India but fails to maintain his consistency mainly after his back injury.
Since he’s been out of the team, India have struggled to find his replacement. They have had to make adjustments to the team combination to fill his void.
“He has been struggling with injuries for a while and although he hasn’t informed us officially, he is considering Test retirement. It will help him keep his focus on white-ball cricket. He was anyway not in our plans for Tests. It will be a great loss for sure but we have to prepare backup,” a top BCCI official told InsideSport.
Hardik Pandya first sustained a back injury during the Asia Cup 2018. He recovered to play in the IPL 2019 and the World Cup before the injury resurfaced. Pandya required surgery to get back to his standard shape. The Mumbai Indians star underwent successful surgery in London in October and is expected to be fit for the IPL.
For a while, Hardik was being compared with legends like Kapil Dev. In 11 Tests, he has scored 532 runs at an average of 31.29, with his best being 108. He has also picked up 17 wickets in 11 matches with an average of 31.06 and has a five-wicket haul to his name that came in 2018 in England.
Hardik was also picked for the T20 World Cup squad where MS Dhoni was appointed as team mentor, but he did not live up to the expectations as India had an early exit from the marquee event. The Indian selectors faced flak for picking Hardik in the T20 WC squad despite knowing – he cannot bowl and is not 100 percent fit.
He may not have made his decision official, but the same report suggests that he has conveyed his plans to the selectors. Notably, Hardik Pandya was not retained by his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.
