Gambhir Sends Message To Pandya: Consider Returning To Test Cricket

Gautam Gambhir, the newly-appointed coach of the Indian cricket team, has indirectly urged Hardik Pandya to return to Test cricket. The all-rounder has not played a Test match since September 2018 to manage his workload and avoid injuries.

Gambhir expressed his scepticism about injury management, stating that players have limited time as international athletes and should seize every opportunity to serve their country. "I'm a very strong believer in one thing, that if you're good, you should be playing all the three formats," Gambhir told Star Sports in his first interview since becoming head coach.

"I've never been a big believer that injury management, you get injured, you go get recovered -- as simple as it gets. Injuries are part of a sportsman's life. And if you're playing all the three formats, you get injured, you go back, get recovered, but you should be playing all the three formats," Gambhir stated.

According to Gambhir, top players aim to participate in all three formats of the game. "When you're playing international cricket and you're good enough, you ask any of the top players, they want to play all the three formats. They don't want to stay and they don't want to be labelled as red ball bowler or white ball bowler," he added.

Gambhir also mentioned that he does not support categorising players for specific formats. "I am not a big believer in identifying people that we're going to keep him for Test matches or other formats. We're going to manage his injury and workload and stuff," he said.

Professional Cricketers' Limited Span

He emphasised that professional cricketers have a short career span and should play as much as possible when in good form. "Professional cricketers, you've got a very small span when you're playing for your country and you want to play as much as you can. And when you're in very good form, go ahead and play all the three formats," Gambhir added.

The comments from Gambhir have also provided a blueprint on Team India's selection going forward. A good run of form will make a player eligible for other formats as well, even if he has been tagged as a specialist of one format.

Sunil Gavaskar's Opinion

Recently, India legend Sunil Gavaskar also opined that Hardik Pandya should make himself available for selection in the Test format as well. "I'm hoping that, in these next two months, there will be some effort made to try and convince Hardik Pandya to come back to Test cricket," he said.

The new approach under Gambhir’s leadership suggests that consistent performance could open doors across different formats for Indian cricketers. This strategy might encourage players like Pandya to reconsider their stance on limiting participation due to injury concerns.