Hardik Pandya’s Selection is Surprising, But Might Just Work Out

The Indian selectors have made a big statement of intent. Under the unheralded MSK Prasad, the national selectors have thrown their weight behind Hardik Pandya almost out of desperation. To be hailed as the number one seam-bowling all-rounder in India in all formats is a big endorsement for the 22-year-old from Baroda.

It also reflects poorly on the rest of the contenders in the country like Rishi Dhawan, Stuart Binny, and the now forgotten Irfan Pathan. While naming Pandya, Prasad’s comment that he is a better bowler than Binny reflects badly on the previous selection panel and India’s domestic cricket.

Binny was a successful all-rounder in Ranji Trophy and was a key member of Karnataka’s champion squads for two successive years. When he was finally picked for the England tour in 2014, it showed how much the selectors had paid attention to Ranji performances.

But Binny’s presence was always accompanied with two question marks: One associated with his father, Roger, being a selector and second, with his own ability at the international level. But despite several doubts, Binny managed to find a place in India’s Test squads. However, this year, when the selectors named Dhawan for ODIs in Australia and later Pandya for the T20Is, something changed.

Binny, however, continued to be picked for Test squads and was even on the recent West Indies tour. What it clearly reflects was that despite all the performances in Ranji, his ability was not upto it for the big stage. This time with Pandya, the selectors have gone purely with gut and have taken a punt. There is clearly no performance in the first-class format from Pandya to warrant an immediate selection.

It will therefore be a big call to blood him straightaway into Test match cricket. If he does play then it could well be because the think-tank have already made up their mind to play three spinners plus Mohammed Shami/Ishant Sharma.

This will mean that Pandya plays as a new-ball bowler and a number six batsman. For Pandya it is a big statement of faith and a fairly quick rise to the toughest format in cricket. He is clearly not the most liked cricketer on the circuit. He is viewed as being cocky and at times flamboyant, which does not endear him to most others.

This is the time for Pandya to make a mark and prove his critics wrong. He spent five months in wilderness this year after the high of World Twenty20. He has not yet shown his full potential in limited opportunities. Pandya’s knock in the Delhi ODI was a perfect example of him getting ahead of himself. If he had helped India win that ODI, he would have been a different cricketer. But the urge to be seen as the match-winner got the better of him.

Across the world there is a real crisis in terms of seam-bowling all-rounders as most of them are picked only for the shorter formats. Right now, Test captains Jason Holder and Angelo Mathews do a bit of both, Mitchell Marsh in Australia is being handled carefully and England’s Ben Stokes is already the new Andrew Flintoff in their eyes. India needs to be careful with their pick, Pandya, without ever raising hopes from the Baroda boy.

Apart from Pandya’s selection, the Prasad-led panel also showed that they preferred status quo and did not want to disturb a winning combination. Prasad’s comments on Gautam Gambhir were particularly interesting. Essentially Gambhir was a replacement and despite his performance in the Indore Test, he would have been expected to move aside when the regulars came back. Prasad, however, backs Gambhir, which is a sign of continuity.

Rest of the squad picks itself with Rohit Sharma missing out owing to an injury. There is a nice balance in the bowling attack with four spinners, three quicks and an all-rounder in the mix.

Overall this new selection panel have had it easy unlike the previous one led by Sandeep Patil. In the last Test series against England in 2012, India lacked intent under a captain who did not quite enjoy the format. That apart, the think-tank then played silly mind games by not letting England play spinners in their tour games. Despite that England beat India 2-1.

That’s the big difference this time. There is intent in the Indian camp because there is a captain in Virat Kohli who is keen to do well in Test cricket. When Alastair Cook walks out for the toss in Rajkot, he will realise that this Indian squad is different from the ones his side beat in nine out of the previous 13 Tests.