Hardik Pandya nowhere near league of Kapil Dev, states Abdul Razzaq

05/01/2020

Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq believes that Hardik Pandya has a long way to go as a cricketer and opined that the 26-year-old is nowhere near the likes of Kapil Dev and Imran Khan. Razzaq further heaped praise on Jasprit Bumrah and added that the latter is on track for greatness.

Provided with a gifted ability to strike the ball long and bowl fast, it didn’t take long for cricket tragics to compare all-rounder Hardik Pandya to the great Kapil Dev, due to the former’s sheer match-winning ability with both the bat and ball. Pandya, who made his international debut at just 23, was touted to be the next big thing in Indian cricket, but injuries and other intangibles have meant that the Baroda man has seen his progress considerably stall, not hitting the heights he was once expected to hit.

Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq gave his opinion on Pandya and stated that the 26-year-old was nowhere near the levels of sub-continent greats Imran Khan and Kapil Dev. Razzaq stated that Pandya needed to work harder on his fitness - both mental and physical - and suggested that the all-rounder needs to be wary of money and stardom getting the better of him.

"Pandya is a good player but he can be a much better all-rounder. It is all about hard work. When you don't give enough time to the game, it drifts away from you," Razzaq told PTI.

"He has to prepare better mentally as well as physically. As you have seen, he has been getting injured a lot of late (underwent back surgery last year). When you earn a lot of money, you tend to relax. For every player it is the same. Mohammad Amir did not work hard enough and his performance dipped.

"Kapil Dev and Imran Khan are the best all-rounders of all time. Hardik is nowhere near that league. Even I was an all-rounder but it doesn't mean that I would compare myself with Imran bhai. Kapil paaji and Imran bhai were in a different league.”

A few months ago, misinterpreted words from the mouth of Razzaq - where people accused him of calling Jasprit Bumrah a ‘baby bowler’ - stirred an enormous amount of controversy, but the former all-rounder clarified that he was misquoted and went on to praise Bumrah, stating that the pacer was well and truly on his way to greatness.

"I do not have anything personal against Bumrah. I was simply comparing him with the likes of Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose, Shoaib Akhtar. It would have been much tougher to face them. My comments were misconstrued.

"He is heading towards becoming a world-class bowler. But in our times, the bowlers were of much higher calibre. Not many can dispute that."