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'I should head back home and spend some quality time with my family. I haven't seen my child for four months'
Swashbuckling India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, on Tuesday, said he is 'heading back home', two days after raising hopes of extending his stay in Australia for the upcoming Test series following his incredible outing in the limited-overs leg.
Coming off a back surgery and yet to start bowling on a regular basis, Pandya's showing in the just-concluded limited overs leg of the tour gave rise to hopes that he might be considered for Test selection.
And those beliefs were strengthened when the all-rounder, after his match-winning effort on Sunday, said he wouldn't mind staying back if the team management wants.
However, two days later, he confirmed that he is going back to India.
"I think I should head back home and spend some quality time with my family. I haven't seen my child for four months, so I'd like to spend some time with family right now," Pandya said after the third and final T20 International against Australia.
"Maybe in the future. I don't know, maybe," he added when asked about his Test comeback.
Earlier, asked if he aspired to stay back for the Test series starting December 17, Pandya had said, "It's a different ball game, I think I need to be, I mean I don't mind but at the end of the day, the call is on the management."
In the company of his skipper Virat Kohli, Pandya again threatened to take India home but Australia held nerves to finish with a consolation win after conceding the series in the second game on Sunday.
For the sheer impact he made with his astonishing hitting, Pandya was named the Man of the Series.
"I'm quite pleased, and wouldn't mind getting the Man of the Series award, but it was a team effort.
"We all decided after the second ODI that we'll treat this as a four-match series now and we were hoping that we would win 3 three of four and that's what we got, so happy with that," Pandya said.
India lost the ODI rubber 1-2 after going down in the first two matches but fought back brilliantly to claim the T20I series with wins in the first and second game respectively.
Pandya underwent a back surgery in October last year in the UK. His lower back had troubled him since the Test series in England in 2018.
The surgery kept him out of action for almost a year, with the all-rounder last playing a T20 International against South Africa at home in September 2019.
He missed the Tests against the same opposition after that, the home series against Bangladesh and West Indies, a T20I series against Sri Lanka and ODIs against Australia at home, and the entire tour of New Zealand earlier this year.
Test cricket is different challenge and Hardik needs to bowl: Kohli
Hardik Pandya's stupendous batting in the white ball series has given him an extra option of a designated 'finisher' but India skipper Virat Kohli is clear that the all-rounder needs to start bowling regularly in order to be considered for Test cricket.
Pandya has had scored of 90 and 92 in the first and third ODIs respectively and a match-winning knock of 42 not out in 22 balls in the second T20I, which helped India to seal the T20 series, got him the Man of the series award.
Asked if he would be tempted to keep Pandya back as a pure batting option for the upcoming four-Test series, Kohli answered in the negative.
"Hardik couldn't bowl and we knew he will not be able to bowl but we saw in the IPL the headspace that he has been. But Test cricket is a different challenge and we need him to bowl," Kohli was clear about priorities.
"We have spoken about it. He is one guy who brings in a lot of balance for us in overseas conditions like South Africa, England. We were able to compete for longer periods of time and he adds a lot of balance in terms of his bowling."
Kohli believes Pandya is getting into the zone where he would like to perform in all formats of the game.
"He is definitely in a zone where he wants to perform for India in all three disciplines. That's always been his 'X-factor'. In white ball cricket, we found some one who can finish games consistently," the skipper said.
But according to him, even Pandya realises that he needs to get back to peak bowling form.
"He himself wants to get back into the bowling space and make sure he is available in Tests because it becomes way more important for five days, that little bit extra.
"He understands that he has to come back the fittest he is able to," he added.