Kapil Dev Opens Up On What Hardik Pandya Needs To Do To Become A Good Allrounder
Hardik Pandya. (Credits: BCCI)

Legendary Kapil Dev feels Hardik Pandya should concentrate more on his batting skills in order to become a good allrounder. The 23-year old has drawn widespread comparison with Kapil Dev following some impressive all round shows.

After an impressive Champions Trophy last year, he went on to prove his worth with some solid performances. He made his Test debut during the Sri Lanka tour and had scored a fifty and a ton. He was the Man of the Series during the ODI series against Australia. However, he has not quite managed to come up with such performances thereafter.

During the recently concluded tour of South Africa, he completely failed to live up to the expectations. Barring the 93-run knock in the first Test, he failed to make any contribution with the bat and the ball throughout the tour.

“He (Pandya) has shown the glimpse. He has the talent and the ability. Comparing with anyone put more pressure on him. I would like to see him go and express himself, enjoy himself,” Kapil was quoted a saying by The Times of India.

Kapil feels Pandya is primarily a batting all-rounder and advised him to

“I would like to see him in the team for one reason, definitely either as a bowler or as batsman. He has to work little harder on his batting because he is a batsman all-rounder. If he can perform a little more with the bat, the bowling will come easy to him and that’s what happens to all-rounders,” said India’s greatest ever all-rounder.

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Kapil Dev Opens Up On What Hardik Pandya Needs To Do To Become A Good Allrounder
Pandya has been compared with Kapil Dev (Credits: AP)

Kapil said that Pandya is still very young and everyone is expecting too much from him.

“We have started expecting too much from him soon but I think he has the ability and is one of the finest athletes in the team. But he has to work harder to achieve success as an all-rounder,” he said.

The World Cup-winning skipper also lauded Team India for the way they bounced back in the limited overs series after a disappointing outing in the first two Tests in South Africa.

“They (India) could have done better in the Test series but they ended really well. They won hands down in the shorter formats in South Africa, which we never did in the past. It was outstanding display. Had they played the first two Tests, a little better it could have been a different story altogether,” said Kapil.

Kapil Dev Opens Up On What Hardik Pandya Needs To Do To Become A Good Allrounder
India won both the limited-overs series against South Africa (Credits: BCCI)

“Virat was brilliant but I think the wrist spinners have really done a great job. Just a year back (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin, two top-class cricketers, were there but now they are not getting a chance and that shows the depth of Indian cricket at the moment.

“It’s amazing how despite some top cricketers like Sachin, Rahul, Sehwag, Laxman retiring in the last 5-6 years, this Indian team has bounced back so quickly and that’s a good sign for Indian cricket,” Kapil added.

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