Seven years after its final test, India still has not found an ideal replacement for Hardik Pandya.

Fast-bouling all-rounders are a rare item, especially in tests. Teams like South Africa, England and Australia are just lucky that they have abundance; An area where India has fought for the last several years. In the 80s and 90s, Kapil Dev raised the bar so high that no one has come close to his skills so far. Then in the early 2000s, a glimpse was shown by Irfan Pathan, and then Hardik Pandya recently.

Hardik Pandya-Best Fast-Bauling All-rounder

The 31 -year -old played his last in 2018 before he was due to back injuries. He had 17 wickets in 11 tests, including a feeter against England in Trent Bridge, and even scored an average of 31, with a ton and four fifties. A fresh England tour is on us, and is a quality all -rounder who recalls Team India again.

In 4 trials in England, he had an average of 23 on an average 164 runs, with fifty and 24 wickets on an average. Therefore, he was there, things were very easy. But the real problem is not Pandya’s unavailability, but the absence of other options. Yes, India has selected Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur, but if the truth is told, they will be difficult to meet Pandya’s skills.

Is Nitish Reddy and Shardul Thakur right to say all -rounders?

Nitish scored a tonne in Australia and ended with 298 runs on the tour, with an average of 37, but his bowling issue, where he took five wickets in five matches and five wickets in 4.31 economy. On the other hand, Sharadul, it seems that after years the Test is returning to the team, only in England, depending on its adventures, last time.

In the 2021 series, he had taken 10 wickets in an average 4 matches of 37, but went to score three fifties to reduce the order-173 runs in all, an average number of 24, on average, the number is fine, but then they could not be trusted as real all-rounders. It also brings out the issue, that there are no quality players coming from domestic circuit.

What options do we have?

In fact, there is not one in a squad for England in India, except for Nitish and Shardul, just before the main visit. For Harshit Rana, he has an FC ton, but his technology was completely exposed in Australia, where he scored 7 runs.

What are the future options for India? Arsin Kulkarni plays for Maharashtra, and scored 202 runs in 4 matches, on average average of 28. To add it, he has taken only three wickets. Krish Bhagat of Punjab is sometimes talked about, but so far in 3 FC matches, he has scored only 55 runs and has taken three wickets.

Jaymeet Patel of Gujarat looks like a decent option. He has scored 661 runs in 9 matches, an average of 50 and 10 wickets. Relax, we have to wait, or wait, until we will find the replacement of Hardik Pandya.