Pandya hasn’t played a Test since 2018 and he opted out of the five-day format due to ongoing fitness issues.
But Ponting felt Pandya could have played in the winner’s clash at The Oval from June 7-11. Mainly because he has played more or less in every game of the IPL which has just ended for the Gujarat Titans which he manages.
“…I thought the other day for India in this game, that’s how valuable someone like Hardik Pandya could be in a unique test match,” Ponting wrote for the ICC. Review.
“I know he’s stated publicly that the test match is probably a bit hard on his body. But for a single match…he’s played every match in this IPL and he’s playing fast.”
The former Australian captain, who is also the head coach of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, says Pandya could have been the X factor for the Indian team in the WTC Final from June 7.
“He (Pandya) could be that X-factor there just to pick in a single game, come in and see what he can do with bat and ball. He could be the difference between the two teams.”
Pandya, 29, has played 11 Tests so far after making his debut in 2017, scoring 532 runs at an average of 31.29 with one hundred and four fifty. He took 17 wickets at an average of 31.05.
In the 74 ODIs he has played so far, Pandya has scored 1584 runs at an average of 33.00 and taken 72 wickets. In the T20Is, he scored 1271 runs in 87 games and scalped 69 wickets.
Pandya led Gujarat Titans to the first IPL triumph of 2022 but lost to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in this season’s finale on Monday.
