Not ethical for me to participate in the WTC final
game: Hardik Pandya

India’s cricket team defeated Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to get to the World Test Championship final. India will face Australia once more in the summit match, which is slated to take place in June at London’s Oval. In a press conference on Thursday, Hardik Pandya, who hasn’t participated in a Test match for India since August 2018, was questioned about reaching the championship game. The all-rounder disqualified himself by claiming that it would not be “ethical” to choose him for the game because he hasn’t ‘earned’ his place.

On the eve of the opening ODI against Australia, Hardik addressed the media. The Indian all-rounder, who will be captaining the team, stated that he wants to put in the work first before rejoining the Test squad.

“No. I have a really strong sense of morality. There is still 10% of what I need to do. Not even 1% of people include me. So, it would not be ethical for me to show up and replace someone. I’ll play Test cricket if I want to.

“I’ll work hard to merit my position. Hence, I won’t participate in the WTC final or any next Test series until I believe that I have earned my spot, he added.

Hardik has a fair amount of experience as a captain, having steered the Indian squad in 11 T20I matches, winning 7 of them. But the all-rounder will face new difficulties as team captain in ODIs. The support of veteran players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, etc., who are still in the squad, will be crucial for Hardik as he strives to earn the right to lead the ODI team full-time in a year.

Rohit will take over as the Indian team’s captain for the second and third ODIs, though.