Indian National Cricket team made two changes going into the fourth and final Test against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground. The management brought in KL Rahul in place of Rohit Sharma, who came back to India due to the birth of his daughter along with Kuldeep Yadav. However, Sourav Ganguly seemed surprised as the team list didn’t have the names of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya.
Meanwhile, the Indian batters did a terrific job as they posted 303 for four at the end of day one after Virat Kohli opted to bat first. Mayank Agarwal continued his superb form providing a great start despite KL Rahul getting out early. Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara shared a good partnership while Virat Kohli joined Pujara since the departure of Agarwal. Pujara scored his third ton the series and also batted more than 1000 balls in the series, the most in the series.
But Sourav Ganguly in his column in TOI admitted that Hardik Pandya could have added value to the squad with his all-round abilities while Bhuvneshwar Kumar would have been an ideal replacement for injured Ishant Sharma.
“I am surprised not to see Hardik Pandya in the 13 as he adds value with both bat and ball and would have been the third seam option as well. I am also surprised that Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not been brought in especially with Ishant unfit,” Ganguly wrote.