Hardik Pandya issued code-red by Ravi Shastri after India all-rounder's red-ball practice sparks Test comeback chatter

Hardik Pandya's recent training images has led to a lot of chatter. The stills and video of the India all-rounder practicing with the red ball has sparked speculations as to whether Hardik is planning comeback into the Test squad. Hardik last played a Test match for India in 2018, but a string of injuries has limited him to playing only ODIs and T20Is. The thought of Hardik returning to Test cricket is not something that has crossed the minds of many, Pandya included, but if the pictures he posted online are anything to go by, never say never.

Hardik's return in India whites promises to solve plenty of lingering issues. In home matches, India's trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel gets the job done as spinning all-rounder, but concerns grow when India travel overseas, especially in SENA countries. Having a cricketer of Hardik's caliber in the Playing XI will surely strengthen India's batting order and bowling line-up alike but plans of his dream comeback are easier said than done. Hardik's career-threatening back injury, surgery to fix the same and a troubled ankle from last year requires him and the officials to manage his workload in the best way possible if India are to get the most out of him.

When India tour Australia later this year, Rohit Sharma won't include more than one spinner in the XI, which is where someone like a Shardul Thakur could have come in handy. Who can forget his counter-attacking half-century at the MCG Test during the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy? But here's the catch. Shardul is no longer in India's scheme of things. Hardik is the ideal option in such a scenario, but will bringing him back into the Test fold after a gap of six years be a risky call?

Well, Ravi Shastri says no, but only if Hardik is 100 percent certain he'll be able to handle the rigours of Test cricket. The former India head coach has cautioned India and Hardik to not get carried away and think the entire process through. Shastri insists India are not in a position to bring Hardik back with a risk of getting injured as it promises to hamper his white-ball career as well. Let Hardik be the one to take this call and understand when and where he is needed the most, Shastri says.

"Depends on how his mindset is. That would be ideal from India's point of view. I think he is someone who knows his body better than anyone. If he feels he is strong enough to take the load, then why not? Don't want it to be a case where he comes in too early, plays and gets injured and then you miss him for the white-ball as well. Got to see where he is most suited, in which format of the game. And stick to that," Shastri said while doing commentary on Day 2 of the 1st Test between India and Bangladesh in Chennai on Friday.

The obstacles in Hardik Pandya's Test comeback

The theories of Hardik's Test return may actually be more of a false alarm, a sense of hope rather than reality given the series of interesting events the all-rounder has gone through. A few months ago, when Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were stripped off their BCCI Central Contracts list for ignoring the board's instructions of turning up in domestic cricket, report emerged that Hardik was about to be in that list too. However, he managed to avoid the same fate by vowing to play red-ball if and when the cricketing calendar allowed him.

Besides, the fact that just a month ago, Suryakumar Yadav was appointed India's new T20I captain proves India don't expect Hardik to play regularly. In such a spot, where Hardik is already juggling ODIs and T20Is, adding a third format will be nothing more pressing the self-destruction button.