Australian legend Ricky Ponting on the addition of GT Star to the WTC squad for Team India
Australian batting legend Ricky Ponting feels that India should have picked Hardik Pandya in their squad for the finals of the World Test Championship against the Australia Cricket Team in London. Ponting said that all-around abilities could have turned out to be the deciding factor in the one-off game. Pandya has not played a Test match since 2018, and he has decided to sit out of the five-day format because of his ongoing fitness concerns. But Ponting felt that Pandya could have played in the winner-take-all clash at The Oval, which is going to start from June 7–11. Mostly because he has bowled in more or less every game in the just-concluded IPL for the Gujarat Titans, which he captains.
"while writing for the ICC Review Ponting said that, "I thought about the other day for India in this game how valuable someone like Hardik Pandya could be in a one-off Test match. I know he is on record saying that the Test match is probably a little bit hard on his body. But for a one-off game, he's been bowling every game through this IPL, and he's bowling quick." The former Australia captain also said Pandya could have been the X-factor for the Indian team in the WTC final beginning on June 7.
He further said, "Pandya could be that X-factor there just to pick in a one-off game; come in and see what he can do with bat and ball. He could be the difference between the two teams."