Shane Warne demands Hardik Pandya's inclusion in Test squad for four-match series

Australian spin legend Shane Warne feels that Hardik Pandya should be in India's Test squad for the upcoming four-match Test series that gets underway with the pink-ball Test match at the Adelaide Oval on December 17. Warne has backed Hardik to play red-ball cricket Down Under after the power-hitter had played an amazing cameo of a 22-ball unbeaten 42 in the second T20I at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday that helped the Men In Blue snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

'They should !!!!!': Shane Warne

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the veteran leggie wrote that the star all-rounder should be in India’s Test team as he has the unique ability to energise his teammates and lift all the team around his vibe. Furthermore, the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket also added that  Cricket needs characters and superstars like the Baroda cricketer.

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Hardik Pandya in Australian limited-overs series

Pandya had an excellent run in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series Down Under. He notched up two half-centuries in three matches out of which he got into the 90s on both occasions but unfortunately, could not breach the three-figure mark as his wait for a maiden ODI ton continues. He had an off day in the second ODI at the SCG as he was dismissed for 38 while trying to take leggie Adam Zampa to the cleaners only to hit it into the hands of Pat Cummins. He had to go for that risky shot as India were trying to catch up with the steep asking rate in their mammoth chase of 390. Eventually, the Virat Kohli-led side fell short by 51 runs to concede the One Day series.

Despite his failure in the second game, the all-rounder managed to amass 210 runs in the series.
Coming back to the T20I series, he could only manage 16 in the first game in Canberra on Friday night but then came to the party with a quickfire unbeaten 42 as Kohli & Co. took an unassailable lead in three-match series. The younger Pandya did seem to be in fine touch during the dead-rubber at the SCG as he had scored a 13-ball 20 at a strike rate of 153.85 including a boundary and a couple of maximums. 

However, with the asking rate climbing up, he had to play big shots in order to catch up with the required run rate and lost his wicket by hitting one to Aussie skipper Aaron Finch at backward point off Adam Zampa in the 18th over. In the end, hosts managed to salvage pride by registering a 12-run win.

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