'ODI mein 10 over toh dal nahi pata' - Fans react as Sourav Ganguly wishes to see Hardik Pandy play Test cricket

As India suffered yet another heartbreak in a major multi-national tournament, losing the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against Australia, former cricketers and pundits dissect where the Men in Blue went wrong. One of the main reasons cited for India's failure was team selection. With calls for the inclusion of youngsters in the Indian team growing, former Indian Cricket Board president Sourav Ganguly feels that Hardik Pandya's inclusion in the Test squad would be a great addition.

Now, after a month-long break, Team India will head to the West Indies to play all formats, and reports have already surfaced that Cheteshwar Pujara will be replaced by Yashaswi Jaiswal in the longer format. However, amid these developments, the former India captain expressed his desire to see Hardik return to Test cricket, especially in overseas conditions.

“I hope Hardik Pandya is listening. I want to see him play Test cricket, especially in these conditions,” Ganguly said in a recent interview with India Today. So far, Hardik has played 11 Tests for India, but he decided to stay away from red-ball cricket in 2018 due to fitness concerns.

Let’s not jump to conclusions: Ganguly's Message to Indian Selectors

Ganguly also commented on calls for quick replacement of veteran batters in view of their performance in the 2023 WTC final. The left-handed batter also stated that India has excellent reserve players, but that he prefers domestic performances over the IPL.

“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,” said Ganguly.

“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 Yashasvi Jaiswal or Rajat Patidar. Abhimanyu Easwaran from Bengal scores a lot of runs. Shubman Gill is young as is Ruturaj Gaikwad," the 50-year-old concluded.

Here's how fans reacted as Sourav Ganguly expresses his desire to see Hardik Pandy play Test cricket:

Trash idea, he wont be able to survive 3 formats looking at his injury track record, also already has weakness in white ball against hard length deliveries, in tests will be even more troubled

— Kartik (@MetaBarca) June 15, 2023

Hardik is a limited format player don't bring him in Test it will be good for him too I guess

— Anubhav (@bhava_anu) June 15, 2023

If he starts playing Test cricket with full fitness it can solve alot of India's problems overseas...

— 🔰Aashish Shukla🔰 (@Aashish_Shukla7) June 15, 2023

I don't think he has enough fitness

— Pichaa Paati (@Pichaa_paati) June 15, 2023

His back hurts after listening this

— Varad Tamhankar (@Varad_Tamhankar) June 15, 2023

Odi mein 10 over toh dal nahi pata😭

— Spider pant (@AnkitDa53859244) June 15, 2023

bhai inse t20 k 4 over nahi daale jaate harr session k 7-8 over kaise daalenge?

— Aditya (@adixtya_) June 15, 2023

Test cricket is not for him he can't bowl 10 overs in a day.

— Batman (@andherekabaaap) June 15, 2023

Bc t20i mein to har over k baad massage karwata h ghanta test khelega ye

— Vikas Yadav 🇮🇳 (@imvikasyadav_) June 15, 2023

The problem is his body may break down if he plays Test cricket also.

— Jayendran Menon (@Dayamaitreya) June 15, 2023