ENG vs IND 2018: Sunil Gavaskar Takes U-Turn On Hardik Pandya Not An Allrounder Statement

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has said that India have not used Hardik Pandya well in the ongoing England vs India Test series.

Pandya has been coping criticism for his lack of contribution of in yet another overseas Test series. In fact, Gavaskar had also slammed Pandya and had gone on to say that he would not consider him as an allrounder. However, Gavaskar has now taken an u-turn on his stance. And he has now blamed the team for not utilising him well.

“Hardik Pandya has the talent. He has shown glimpses of his talent in the past. But I feel India haven’t used Hardik Pandya as much as they should have either with the bat or ball.”

“But not just Hardik but also the other players who are being criticised, it is only natural because the fans are really disappointed with this loss. The team should actually take inspiration from all this criticism and show the world what they can actually do,” Gavaskar told India Today.

There is absolutely no denying that Pandya has shown glimpses of his potential. However, his inability to string together a chain of impressive performances is what drawing criticism for him. He began the tour of South Africa earlier this year with a brave knock of 93. But then he failed to build on that. What made matters worse for him was his poor bowling.

He began the proceedings in England on a poor note too but made amends in the third Test at Trent Bridge. A 50 and a maiden five-wicket haul in Tests were enough to shut his critics up. But he failed to deliver in the fourth Test and came in the firing line again.

Gavaskar further said that the Virat Kohli-led team’s inability to living up to the expectations has been a tough pill to swallow for the fans including him.

“The only team which had the potential to win in South Africa, England and Australia was India. That is why the fans, including myself, are even more disappointed with their performances. This team couldn’t achieve what it should have. It’s not just Hardik Pandya’s fault alone. Some of the other players barring Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and the seam bowlers, haven’t lived up to the expectations,” Gavaskar told India Today.

India lost the fourth Test by 60 runs and ended up losing the series. Batting failure once again came back to haunt them as they were all out for 184 while chasing 245. India will be looking to salvage some pride when they take on England in the last Test at The Oval from September 7.