Asia Cup 2023: End Of Road For Hardik Pandya In Tests? Kapil Dev Opens Up On Allrounder's Derailed Career

Former India captain Kapil Dev believes Hardik Pandya is unlikely to return to the Test team. The allrounder’s Test career is completely off track at the moment.

Hardik Pandya made his T20I and ODI debut in 2016 and broke into the Test team in 2017. He did not take long to become a key member of the Test side before injuries completely derailed his career in the red-ball format. The India T20I captain has not played a Test since August 2018 when India locked horns against England in Southampton.

A few weeks after the Southampton Test, Hardik Pandya suffered a career-threatening back injury in the Asia Cup. And he has not played any Tests since then and has only been playing the limited-overs games. The 29-year-old has suffered several injuries already in his career so far and it is one of the reasons why he has decided to stay away from the Test team.

And while only time will tell whether Hardik Pandya returns to the Test team or not, Kapil Dev has opined that it is unlikely. The World Cup-winning captain said that the allrounder has ‘one of the finest bodies’ in the country and urged him to play more Tests. At the same time, Kapil Dev admitted that Hardik Pandya’s Test return looks unlikely.

“Doesn’t look like he will,” said Kapil Dev in an interview with TOI.

“I saw his photograph on the billboard today. I don’t know whether they did any touch-up or not, but in that, he looked like having one of the finest bodies we have in the country. Yes, he should play more cricket because he has so much ability. If he is fit, he should play Test cricket also,” he added.

Kapil Dev on India’s chances in the World Cup:

Kapil Dev also spoke about India’s chances in the upcoming ICC World Cup. The Men in Blue have not won the World Cup since 2011 and will be desperate to end their title drought this year. Kapi Dev, however, wants the team to not think too far ahead and focus only on qualifying for the semifinals first.

“They need to come in the top four (semifinals) first. After that, anything is possible. You need a stroke of luck from the semifinal stage onwards and need things to go your way. But the most important thing is to reach the top four,” said the former cricketer who led India to their first World Cup title in 1983.