Hardik Pandya is nowhere near Kapil Dev, says Karsan Ghavri
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Karsan Ghavri believes that Hardik Pandya has a long way to go before he could be compared with India’s legendary skipper, Kapil Dev. The former Indian bowler was all praise for the current Indian pacers, who were brilliant in the first Test, and criticized the batsmen, blaming them for the defeat.
The media wasted no time in putting the 24-year-old on the pedestal after his blistering knock of 93 in the Newlands Test’s first innings helped India stay in the game. Apart from that, the all-rounder also claimed three wickets playing a crucial role in helping India almost win the match.Â
In the 5 Tests that Pandya has played, he has scored 272 runs at an impressive average of 54.40, leading many to believe that he is the next big thing in Indian cricket, with some even comparing him to Kapil Dev. However, former Indian bowler Ghavri believes that the youngster has to go a long way before he will come anywhere close to the World Cup-winning captain.
“He (Kapil) is being so modest to say — I read in the newspaper — that Hardik Pandya is a better all-rounder than him. In my view Hardik Pandya is nowhere near Kapil Dev,” said Ghavri, who was speaking at a programme
“Time will tell how far he (Hardik) can reach close to Kapil’s achievement or whatever Kapil has done and the time will tell you everything.”
The 66-year-old left-arm seamer, who played 58 games for India taking 124 wickets in Tests and ODIs, was impressed by India’s pace attack in the First Test, who successfully took 20 wickets. However, he didn’t back down from criticizing the batsmen and in no uncertain words blamed them for the defeat.
“We bowled extremely well in both the innings. Bowlers have done a beautiful job in the first Test match and it is only the batsmen, who have let us down. And if we really need to improve from the second and the third Test onwards, every batsman has to take a lot of responsibility and plan out their innings and you need to have lot of runs on the board to fight, you got to give something to your bowlers and if you don’t do that, then the result will be different altogether,” he said. Â
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