3 reasons why the Indian Test team desperately needs Hardik Pandya the all-rounder

As the Indian cricket team fell to an eight-wicket loss against New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), Hardik Pandya was in Mumbai preparing for the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.

Hardik Pandya wasn't expected to be picked in the England touring party. Captain Virat Kohli has been clear that the all-rounder needs to bowl in order to be considered for Test selection, which is something he hasn't done frequently since suffering back and shoulder injuries.

But the Indian Test team desperately craves a player of the ilk of Hardik Pandya, as Kohli mentioned in the post-match presentation after the WTC final loss. Here are three reasons why.

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#3 India don't have many pace-bowling all-rounders apart from Hardik Pandya

India Nets Session

To state the obvious, the Indian cricket team has struggled to find pace-bowling all-rounders who are good enough in both departments to hold down a place in the Test side.

Over the last few years, the likes of Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube and Stuart Binny have been tried in various formats during many assignments. But none of them have proved to be effective enough with the ball, and their batting too has let them down for the most part despite flashes of brilliance.

Right now, India have only Shardul Thakur to call upon from the squad for the England tour. But even he is a relatively new all-rounder, having proved his batting worth in only a couple of innings since making his Test debut.

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#2 India need the choice to drop either Ashwin or Jadeja on seaming tracks

India v England - 4th Test: Day One

As we saw during the WTC final, India must have the option to drop either Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin on tracks that aren't expected to assist spin. That's nothing against them, as both all-rounders have been among the team's most consistent Test performers for several years now.

But there are some games where they simply might not be able to make an impact. Jadeja was reduced to a bit-part bowling role in the WTC final, while Ashwin had to wait until the reserve day to find some purchase off the reluctant Rose Bowl surface. And both didn't have great outings with the bat.

At the moment, if India sacrifice either Ashwin or Jadeja for an extra pacer, it would leave their batting woefully short of gritty lower-order specialists. The pace contingent of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj has been rolled over with alarming ease by opposition bowlers, and India cannot drop either spinner even if they want to.

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#1 Hardik Pandya is too good to be out of the Indian Test team

Hardik Pandya in action during England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day Four

To put it simply, Hardik Pandya is too good a cricketer to be out of the Indian Test side. A world-class all-rounder who is among the best in the world at what he does, the 27-year-old has already put up impressive displays to show why he belongs in the red-ball scheme of things.

Hardik Pandya scored a fifty on Test debut against Sri Lanka, before notching up his maiden hundred in only his third outing in the format. Then, at 24 years old, he played a brilliant innings of 93 against South Africa on a challenging Newlands pitch against one of the best pace attacks in the world. Pandya even has a Test five-wicket haul, one he claimed against England at Trent Bridge in 2018 by exploiting the swing on offer.

Hardik Pandya's white-ball credentials need no introduction, of course. It's safe to say that he has the potential to become one of India's greatest-ever Test all-rounders, provided he steers clear of injuries. His potential is too high for it to be left untapped, and the Indian cricket team will hope that he recovers the ability to bowl long spells in the near future.