"Hardik Pandya may not be seen in Test cricket for a long while" - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra has said that Hardik Pandya is unlikely to feature in the Indian Test team for a considerably long time.

Hardik Pandya has been excluded from the 24-member Indian contingent, including the four reserves, for the World Test Championship final and the subsequent Test series against England.

While sharing his views on the selected team in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out Hardik Pandya's exclusion implies he will not be seen in the longest version of the game anytime in the near future.

"One thing is certain that if he is not there in the WTC final, it's fine but if his name is not there even for the five Tests against England, it's clear that Hardik Pandya may not be seen in Test cricket for a long while," said Chopra.

The cricketer-turned-commentator reasoned Hardik Pandya's skills as a seam-bowling all-rounder can be best utilized in overseas conditions like England.

"We all felt Hardik Pandya's name will surely be there. It is obvious that if he has to play Test cricket anywhere then England, South Africa and Australia are the places where you will need Hardik Pandya the medium pacer," observed Chopra.

Hardik Pandya was part of the Indian Test squad for the home series against England. However, he did not play in any of the matches and was presumably included for Bharat Arun to work on remodeling his bowling action.

“Hardik Pandya is still not in a position to bowl. The experiment of selectors to keep him during England Tests and prepare him with bowling workload has failed miserably. He will henceforth not be considered for Test cricket,” a BCCI source told PTI.

— K I R A N 🇮🇳 (@Kiran_reddy_k) May 7, 2021

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"There is an issue with Hardik Pandya's bowling" - Aakash Chopra

Hardik Pandya did not bowl a single over in IPL 2021 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra observed Hardik Pandya's inability to bowl has been a concern and Virat Kohli was using him sparingly even in the limited-overs matches to save him for the bigger battles ahead.

"There is an issue with his bowling. The captain also said sometime back that they are managing his workload, so that we can keep him safe for Test cricket," said Chopra.

The 43-year-old concluded by acknowledging that Hardik Pandya's exclusion from the Indian Test squad is perfectly acceptable if he is unable to roll his arm over.

"The next day itself Hardik had given a statement that he does not want to play Test cricket at the moment because the situation of his back is very bad and he doesn't want to bowl. So, this is a statement on Hardik Pandya's immediate Test career that he will not be considered now, which is completely understandable if he is not bowling," concluded Chopra.

Hardik Pandya plied his trade only as a pure batsman for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021. Apparently, he did not have any concerns with his back, but a shoulder injury kept him away from the bowling crease.

"Hardik Pandya didn't Bowl against RCB because of shoulder niggle." - Chris Lynn

— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) April 10, 2021