New Delhi [India], December 29 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa urged India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya to make a Test return, saying it'd be 'wonderful' if he slots back into the No. 7 spot.

Uthappa believed the BCCI won't stop him if he's fit and keen on playing.

Pandya last played Test cricket in 2018. Since then, due to a back injury, he hasn't played the red-ball formats. Since Pandya is not playing Test cricket, India have flirted with fast-bowling all-round options more, with Nitish Reddy and Shardul Thakur the leading contenders.

Pandya has played 11 Test matches for India, scoring 532 runs at an average of 31.29 with a century and four fifties, along with 17 wickets at an average of 31.05 under his belt.

'If Hardik Pandya returns to the No. 7 spot in Tests, it would be wonderful. The way he's playing. Anything can happen; it's cricket. Never say never. If Hardik decides to play Test cricket, will BCCI ask him not to play? If he says he wants to play and wants to win the World Test Championship (WTC), I don't think they would say no. I think they are asking him to prove his fitness. Are all-rounders bowling 20 overs? Nitish Kumar is not bowling that much. He's bowling 12 overs. If he's to bowl 12-15 overs per innings, I think he can do it the way he's fit now, the way he's bowling and batting. It's his own decision,' Robin Uthappa said on his YouTube Channel.

'He's won multiple ICC world championships right now. He's won the ICC trophies - the Asia Cup, the T20 World Cup. He wants to win the ICC World Test Championship; also, then that's the whole grand slam, right? Which cricketer wouldn't want to do that for his country? He's halfway there,' he added.

Uthappa also said he can't find any seamers in the Indian Test team other than Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, and praised Prasidh Krishna's effort, saying he has done well in patches but feels there's room for improvement.

'For me, right now it's Siraj and Bumrah, but after that I can't [find any]. I can't say that... Like Prasidh has done well in patches, but that confidence doesn't augur. I like him a lot, he's a great guy, hard-working cricketer, great work ethic, but that effectiveness that is there in Test cricket is what you want. Maybe I am old school, I don't know. Nowadays, economy rate is not a factor in Test cricket. People are okay going for 5-7 runs an over in the pursuit of trying to take wickets, given the way cricket is played... There's room for improvement in Prasidh,' he added. (ANI)