Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
INDIAN rookie Hardik Pandya has garnered high praise from three of the country’s most influential cricket figures.
Just three Tests into his career Pandya has been compared to David Warner by Sunil Gavaskar, tipped to be the next Kapil Dev by chairman of selectors MSK Prasad and hailed as “special” by captain Virat Kohli.
Pandya, 23, has shone for India since making his Test debut at the start of the recent series against Sri Lanka, finishing the campaign with 178 runs to his name at an average of 59.33 with a strike rate of 107.87.
Having started his Test career with a half-century, he signed off from the series in style, going from one to 108 in a single session.
Warner pulled off a similar feat against Pakistan earlier this year, going to lunch on day one at the Sydney Cricket Ground with 100 to his name. Gavaskar can see parallels between the two explosive hitters.
“It’s still early days but Pandya has proven that he has it in himself to succeed in Test cricket,” Gavaskar told NDTV. “He is a bit like David Warner. I believe that Hardik will follow Warner’s footsteps and become a successful player in all three formats of the game.”
Warner first grabbed headlines in 2009 when he hammered 89 off 43 on international debut in a Twenty20 against South Africa and went on to make a name for himself as one of the format’s most exciting batsmen. In 2011 he entered the Test arena and has since establish himself as one of its most feared players.
It’s a path Gavaskar can see Pandya taking. Prior to the tour of Sri Lanka, the all-rounder had already cemented his spot in India’s one-day international (289 runs at 41.28, 19 wickets at 34.73) and Twenty20 (100 runs at 10.00, 15 wickets at 25.93) outfits.
While Pandya has a long way to go as a batsman before he is comparable to Warner, he does have a skill the Australian does not boast. Capable of bowling above 140km/h, the right-armer proved a reliable option for Kohli in Sri Lanka (four wickets at 23.75) and had a knack of taking key wickets, accounting for centurion Kusal Mendis and the dangerous Niroshan Dickwella in the second Test and former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews in the third.
Unsurprisingly, Pandya has already garnered comparisons to Kapil, the last great Indian seam-bowling all-rounder. Kapil scored over 5000 runs (5248 at 31.05) and took over 400 wickets (434 at 29.64) for India in Test cricket, dominated the ODI arena (3783 runs at 23.79 with a strike rate of 95.07, 253 wickets at 27.45 with an economy of 3.71), and led the country to World Cup glory in 1983.
Whether Pandya ever captains India remains to be seen, but chairman of selectors Prasad is confident he has the talent to match the all-time great as a player.
“If he stays grounded I am sure we will see him being compared to the legendary Kapil Dev in the times to come,” Prasad told the Press Trust of India after Pandya hit his maiden Test ton.
Asked if India had finally completed its search for a seam-bowling all-rounder, Prasad answered in the affirmative.
“He has already established himself in shorter formats (ODIs and T20) very well and this Test series has given him a good platform to establish himself in the longest format
“He has utilised the opportunity given to him and came out with flying colours.”
For his part, Pandya has played down suggestions he is the new Kapil.
“Obviously my focus is to play my cricket and just become what I can become,” he said after his century. “Even if I can be 10 per cent of what Kapil Dev was, I will be pretty happy in my life.”
Pandya’s captain, Kohli, just wants the rising star to continue being himself.
“We let him be who he is, we let him express himself,” Kohli told reporters after the match.
“You know, a guy who can get a fifty and a hundred in his first three games batting at number eight has to have something special in him.
“He brings in great balance to the team, he’s a gun fielder and gives you those crucial breakthroughs ... we absolutely have 120 per cent faith in him.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...k=e9824ae6b7c988f0b6d5d7fc9bfd515c-1502765944
Just three Tests into his career Pandya has been compared to David Warner by Sunil Gavaskar, tipped to be the next Kapil Dev by chairman of selectors MSK Prasad and hailed as “special” by captain Virat Kohli.
Pandya, 23, has shone for India since making his Test debut at the start of the recent series against Sri Lanka, finishing the campaign with 178 runs to his name at an average of 59.33 with a strike rate of 107.87.
Having started his Test career with a half-century, he signed off from the series in style, going from one to 108 in a single session.
Warner pulled off a similar feat against Pakistan earlier this year, going to lunch on day one at the Sydney Cricket Ground with 100 to his name. Gavaskar can see parallels between the two explosive hitters.
“It’s still early days but Pandya has proven that he has it in himself to succeed in Test cricket,” Gavaskar told NDTV. “He is a bit like David Warner. I believe that Hardik will follow Warner’s footsteps and become a successful player in all three formats of the game.”
Warner first grabbed headlines in 2009 when he hammered 89 off 43 on international debut in a Twenty20 against South Africa and went on to make a name for himself as one of the format’s most exciting batsmen. In 2011 he entered the Test arena and has since establish himself as one of its most feared players.
It’s a path Gavaskar can see Pandya taking. Prior to the tour of Sri Lanka, the all-rounder had already cemented his spot in India’s one-day international (289 runs at 41.28, 19 wickets at 34.73) and Twenty20 (100 runs at 10.00, 15 wickets at 25.93) outfits.
While Pandya has a long way to go as a batsman before he is comparable to Warner, he does have a skill the Australian does not boast. Capable of bowling above 140km/h, the right-armer proved a reliable option for Kohli in Sri Lanka (four wickets at 23.75) and had a knack of taking key wickets, accounting for centurion Kusal Mendis and the dangerous Niroshan Dickwella in the second Test and former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews in the third.
Unsurprisingly, Pandya has already garnered comparisons to Kapil, the last great Indian seam-bowling all-rounder. Kapil scored over 5000 runs (5248 at 31.05) and took over 400 wickets (434 at 29.64) for India in Test cricket, dominated the ODI arena (3783 runs at 23.79 with a strike rate of 95.07, 253 wickets at 27.45 with an economy of 3.71), and led the country to World Cup glory in 1983.
Whether Pandya ever captains India remains to be seen, but chairman of selectors Prasad is confident he has the talent to match the all-time great as a player.
“If he stays grounded I am sure we will see him being compared to the legendary Kapil Dev in the times to come,” Prasad told the Press Trust of India after Pandya hit his maiden Test ton.
Asked if India had finally completed its search for a seam-bowling all-rounder, Prasad answered in the affirmative.
“He has already established himself in shorter formats (ODIs and T20) very well and this Test series has given him a good platform to establish himself in the longest format
“He has utilised the opportunity given to him and came out with flying colours.”
For his part, Pandya has played down suggestions he is the new Kapil.
“Obviously my focus is to play my cricket and just become what I can become,” he said after his century. “Even if I can be 10 per cent of what Kapil Dev was, I will be pretty happy in my life.”
Pandya’s captain, Kohli, just wants the rising star to continue being himself.
“We let him be who he is, we let him express himself,” Kohli told reporters after the match.
“You know, a guy who can get a fifty and a hundred in his first three games batting at number eight has to have something special in him.
“He brings in great balance to the team, he’s a gun fielder and gives you those crucial breakthroughs ... we absolutely have 120 per cent faith in him.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...k=e9824ae6b7c988f0b6d5d7fc9bfd515c-1502765944
you obviously have seen the way DEV violated the great WI bowlers manhood in their backyard lad..... Dev couldve been one of the ATG batsmen of his era if he solely concentrated on his batting, he was that talented but he chose to have a SIX and OUT attitude hence he massively underachieved.... Vaskar once said a man of Dev's batting ability should have scored atleast 10,000 test runs...
