As Hardik Pandya withdrew from the World Test Championship 2023 final, Ravichandran Ashwin had nothing but praise for him. The Indian team has qualified for the WTC final against Australia by winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 at home. As India secured a spot in the final, which will be held at The Oval in London beginning on June 7, Hardik’s name quickly rose to the top.
In the recent Test series against Australia, the Indian side used a rotation of three spinners and two pacers. But, they would likely switch to a three-man pace assault for the WTC final because of the conditions of the surface at The Oval. Hardik’s statistics in England are remarkable, but he hasn’t played red-ball cricket since December 2018.
He set the record straight last week, saying he won’t play Test cricket again until he’s ready for the format and has earned a berth on the squad, adding that it would be wrong to usurp someone else’s spot in the process.
To Ashwin, Hardik’s move was an appropriate signal to the cricketing community. He lauded the pace all-rounder for his forthrightness and stated that it was a bold comment coming from Hardik.
What did Ravichandran Ashwin say about Hardik Pandya?
Furthermore, Ashwin said that Hardik should be commended for accepting the fact that he cannot participate in the WTC final and not offering any justifications for this decision.
“We have reached the WTC final, and many felt that Hardik Pandya must return to the Test side. Of course, those opinions were great since Hardik has done well in England with the limited Tests he has played there. But Hardik said that won’t do justice and, ‘I will come back when I feel it’s the right time to play Test cricket. I haven’t even played a one percent role in us qualifying for the final’. This is a proper statement to the cricketing fraternity and to the entire world by Hardik Pandya,” Ashwin said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin said: “We usually get attached to failure or success. Once we fail, we won’t accept that the reason for the failure is actually us. We tend to blame others for our failures. We believe in superstitions like a black cat came in front of me when I left and things like that. We find various reasons because, at the end of the day, we are all disappointed.”
“So, we try to find these excuses to get the next day going for us. Whereas Hardik Pandya has accepted that he isn’t eligible to play Test cricket at the moment. He stressed that people who are eligible must be selected instead of him. That was a big statement coming from a player like him. Hats off to Hardik Pandya,” he added.
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