I Just Want To Be Hardik Pandya, Says All-Rounder On Comparisons With Kapil Dev & Ben Stokes

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has played down comparisons with India great Kapil Dev and England all-rounder Ben Stokes. Pandya, early in his career, was called as the next Kapil Dev and he aptly received his maiden ODI cap from the former India captain. Like Kapil, Pandya has also shown his all-round skills on occasions but the 26-year-old has said that he is more concerned about the team than himself.

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“Comparisons with Ben Stokes, Kapil Sir. I don’t look at it that way. For me, I have to be the best. I have to give my 100 per cent. I have to make sure that my team wins. I will be so happy if my team wins even if I had scored 10 runs that me scoring 30 and the team losing. I just want to be Hardik,” he told India Today.

Pandya, who was considered to be a batting all-rounder at the start, has also worked on his bowling and he famously scalped a five-for in the third Test of the series against England – in 2018 – in just six overs he bowled.

He is a regular in Team India’s limited-overs team but unlike Kapil and Stokes, he does not feature in Test cricket primarily due to fitness issues. Pandya hasn’t played a Test match for close to two years now and is unlikely to make a comeback in the longest format for the New Zealand series.

Despite not being a regular in Tests, he will be in the scheme of things when India travel to Australia later in the year.

Meanwhile, Pandya is on a comeback trail and it remains to be seen if he gets selected for the New Zeland series. On Saturday, he withdrew from India A series against New Zealand A due to fitness issues.

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Pandya has been away from action since the South Arica T20I series. He underwent back surgery in the UK last year but has started batting and bowling practice. If he misses the bus for the New Zealand series, Pandya will have to wait for long to get his opportunity.