ICC World Cup 2019: Kapil Dev Wants Hardik Pandya to be Himself
Jun 13, 2019 at 10:44 AM
The 1983 World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev has urged all-rounder Hardik Pandya to improve his bowling trait. He added, he is keen to see Pandya doing better than him at the highest-level cricket for the Team India. Pandya, who is the part of ICC World Cup 2019, has had shown early glimpse with the bat, but he couldn’t do much with the ball, of late.
Legendary all-rounder Dev didn’t want to witness Pandya emerging as a shining light for India.
While responding to a question on his comparison with Pandya, Dev maintained the latter is a batting all-rounder. He has hailed Pandya for being in a good spirit while adding it’s quite important for his team.
All in all, Dev wants Pandya to be himself.
“Let’s not compare, let him play. We have already seen his rich talent and I want him to be better than me. He is an all-rounder, he has to perform in both the departments. Yes, he is a batting all-rounder I can feel that, so I hope he can improve in his bowling. He is a great team man and that is more important,” Dev told PTI.
While avoiding the comparison, Dev believes the Baroda-based talented all-rounder shall work on his bowling skills.
Earlier, many including cricketing pundits have drawn a comparison of Pandya with legendary Dev, who proved to be an influential character for the new generation.
Over the years, Pandya has improved leaps and bounds. Since making his debut way back in January 2016, Pandya’s growth has set an example for many youngsters who are waiting in the wings.
Following his occasional failures, but has also set stadiums on fire while playing some breathtaking knocks. He has been a nemesis for the spinners.
In 47 ODIs, Pandya has scored 794 runs at an average of 30.53. Also, he has amassed 532 runs in 11 Tests which included a Test ton. He has scored runs at 31.3.
Moreover, it becomes pertinent to point out that he has struggled with his bowling average in the day-long format. The right-arm medium-pacer has bagged 44 wickets, with his average (41.97) on the higher side.
Meanwhile, Pandya has a chance to improve his bowling numbers when India takes on New Zealand on Thursday (June 13) in Nottingham.