Hardik Pandya Training With Red-Ball Again, Further Fueling Speculations of a Test Comeback

India’s premier fast-bowling all-rounder, Hardik Pandya has further fueled speculations regarding a possible return to Test cricket with his latest post on social media.

The 30-year-old posted photos with the red ball on his official Instagram handle. He was seen practising with the bat and the ball during a training session in the nets.

Pandya had shown promising signs of being able to take on the longest format where he scored one century and four fifties. With the ball, he has picked up a total of 17 wickets in the 11 matches which includes one fifer.

The Indian international could look to make a return to the longest format, marking a comeback after six years. He last played a Test during the game against England in Southampton.

Earlier, it was questioned whether Pandya had revealed his intentions to the Indian team management.

A senior BCCI was quoted by PTI asking, “It’s heartening to know that Hardik is bowling with red ball but has he really spoken to men who matter (chief selector Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma) about his intentions?”.

With Gautam Gambhir as the new coach of the side, it could be a possibility to see Pandya come in as an all-rounder who is a lethal force with both bat and ball.

But with the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel still going strong, it remains to be seen if India could look to make major changes to the side that made the World Test Championship finals for the first two editions.

It is also to be noted that Pandya has also had struggles with recurring injuries. The all-rounder had recently picked up an ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup which ruled him out of the rest of the tournament, thus potentially hampering India’s campaign as they lost out against Australia in the final.

Currently, the Indian Cricket Team are gearing up in whites as they take on Bangladesh in a two-match series which is set to begin from tomorrow. Following the Tests the Indian team will also be taking part in a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh as well, where Pandya is likely to feature in the squad.

The Indian team have a total of 10 Tests lined up for the year. After the Bangladesh Tests, there would be a three-match series at home against New Zealand followed by the headline event of the year, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where India will tour Australia to defend the title in November 2024.