England vs India, 4th Test: I Don't Consider Hardik Pandya as an All-Rounder Says Livid Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar has criticized Hardik Pandya for his inability to perform in the 4^th Test against England at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton as India lost the Test by 60 runs to surrender the series by a 3-1 margin with a match to go. In the post-match show anchored by Harsha Bhogle, Gavaskar wanted wholesome changes in the playing XI for the 5^th and the final Test slated to be played at the Oval from 7^th September.

I don’t consider Hardik Pandya as an all-rounder says Sunil Gavaskar

“You want to call Hardik Pandya an all-rounder? Whoever wants to call Pandya an all-rounder, may call! But I don’t think so,” Gavaskar said. He further added that apart from Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant and the three fast bowlers, all the other spots are up for grabs in the 5^th Test. He was so critical of the Indian batters that he didn’t even pick Cheteshwar Pujara in his playing XI for the next Test. Pujara scored a magnificent century in the 4^th Test. However, it was not enough to convince Gavaskar of his long-term future in overseas conditions.

During the show, he stated that playing 5 batsmen in a big match like this was always risky. He said that Pant and Pandya can bat but are nowhere close to proper batsmen. Hence India was always trying to play catch up after the fall of Virat Kohli’s wicket.

Sunil Gavaskar questions the tactics of Team India

“When you go in with five batsmen then you are bound to be in such a situation where you rely so much only on one player, Virat Kohli to get you the big hundreds. He can’t do it every time, he’s human. To expect that the lower order (to save India after the top-order collapse) after that Kohli-Rahane partnership was broken, to get even another 60-70 runs was too much,” Gavaskar said at the post-match show.

The lower middle order of India crumbled meekly under pressure yet again. It was captain Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane who kept India in the match with a gritty 101 runs partnership. However, it was always going to be difficult for India to chase the remaining 119. Rishabh Pant came out with a positive frame of mind and connected a couple of fours and a six. However, he couldn’t continue long as India folded out for 184 in the 4^th innings.