"With that, I thought my Career was over": Hardik Pandya Opens up

Hardik Pandya last played a Test match in September 2018 but has cemented his spot as a big-hitting all-rounder in the limited-overs format. He is currently on road to recovery from a back injury which needed surgery last year.

"I see myself as a back-up seamer for sure. After my back surgery, I don't know, playing Test cricket right now will be a challenge," the 26-year-old told 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"If I was a Test player and didn't have the game in white-ball cricket, I could go now and risk my back in Tests but I know my importance in white ball cricket.

"It has happened that I played Tests and then didn't do well in ODIs and T20s because my plus point is my energy," he added.

Recalling the day when Pandya first picked up the back injury in 2018 during an Asia Cup match against Pakistan, he said, "I genuinely thought that my career was over because I'd never seen anyone being stretchered off. I was knocked out for 10 minutes, after that the pain never went down. What happens to me is that my body goes into recovery mode straight away... Asia Cup was anyway going to be my last series before being rested but then the injury happened."