Hardik Pandya not on Ben Stokes' level, claims Ex-Kiwi star and warns India all-rounder to 'get his body right'

Hardik Pandya has become the talk of the town once again after the selectors and the team management decided against appointing him as the captain of the T20I team.

Following the stunning all-round displays in the T20 World Cup last month, he was widely expected to replace Rohit Sharma as India's new T20I captain. Apart from his good performance, Hardik Pandya was also the vice-captain of the team during the tournament. Unsurprisingly, many expected him to become the captain.

However, the team management decided to hand the responsibility to Suryakumar Yadav instead. Many believe that Hardik Pandya deserved the captaincy and was hard done by. And with the India allrounder garnering all the attention at the moment, former New Zealand allrounder Scott Styris has shared his views on him.

In a recent interview, Styris hailed the India star as a 'phenomenally skilled cricketer' and said that he is on par with someone like Ben Stokes skill-wise. However, Styris also said that the Pandya is yet to do justice to his skills. The former cricketer-turned-commentator said that Pandya needs to be more consistent with his performances to be regarded as one of the best in the world.

"This champion allrounder has got as many skills as anyone. He's probably in a similar ability-zone as someone like Ben Stokes. He's got much more talent than that (his recent performances)," Styris told PTI.

"He is a phenomenally skilled cricketer. But he hasn't quite shown it yet as consistently enough for my liking. So, just let him get out there and just say, you've got to lead us now by your performance," he said.

"I think the skills that Indian fans need to see from him now is being available all the time on the field and then delivering those performances with both bat and ball," he added.

Be that dominant all-rounder: Scott Styris to Hardik Pandya

Scott Styris further said that Hardik Pandya will have to work on his body to become a consistent performer. The allrounder has indeed suffered a spate of injuries in recent times and it is also one of the main reasons why he was not made the T20I captain. Styris said Pandya should work on becoming an allrounder who can consistently deliver with both bat and ball.

"I want to see him get his body right and be that dominant allrounder that we know. Bowling is really hard work and he is someone who's got all the skills and talent.

"I want to see him be that genuine allrounder and as someone whom you can rely on with both bat and ball, not just the odd over here with the ball and come in with a cameo," said Styris.

Pandya will be seen in action next on Saturday (July 27) when Team India and Sri Lanka play the first game of the three-match T20I series. India are in Sri Lanka for three T20Is and as many ODIs. Pandya is a part of the T20I squad but not the ODI squad.