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Former India opener, Parthiv Patel recently provided a big update on India all-rounder, Hardik Pandya’s return to Test cricket. The speculations around Pandya making a return in the longest format surfaced after he was seen practicing with the red cherry in his latest videos, shared on his official social media handles.
But in the latest turn of events, Parthiv Patel has finally broke silence on Hardik Pandya’s possible return to Test cricket. Patel, who has been working with JioCinema during the ongoing India versus Bangladesh Test series, opened up that the Indian all-rounder might not return to Test cricket for India.
I’m not looking at Hardik Pandya in Tests: Parthiv Patel
It is to be noted that Hardik Pandya hasn’t played a Test match for the Men in Blue since 2018 and considering the same, the former India opener feels that he isn’t making his return in red-ball cricket any soon. Moreover, Patel added that he was practising with the red balls because the white balls weren’t available at the venue, putting an end to the speculations of a return in Test cricket.
“I’m not looking at Hardik Pandya (in Tests). He was practising with the red ball only because the white ball wasn’t available. I don’t think his body allows four-day and five-day matches. He has to play at least one first-class game (before being considered for selection in Tests), which is very unlikely,” Patel said.
Hardik Pandya to return for three-match T20I series against Bangladesh
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday, September 28 announced 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh. The three-match T20I series is scheduled to commence after the completion of the Test series, which is underway with second Test being played at the Green Park in Kanpur.
While the T20I series will commence with the first match scheduled to be held in Gwalior, followed by a match each in New Delhi and Hyderabad. Among the notable inclusions in the T20I squad, Suryakumar Yadav, the T20I captain returns after he missed the Duleep Trophy due to an injury. IPL 2024 find, Mayank Yadav has also been named in the 15-man side along with the likes of Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma, among others.
India’s squad for three T20Is against Bangladesh
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav
