IND vs NZ: Kapil Dev Questions Hardik Pandya Capabilities: Hardik Pandya has been the target of trolls and criticism from former players in the last few weeks. The all-rounder struggled with injuries and that forced him away from bowling. Now, former India captain Kapil Dev has dismissed him as an all-rounder claiming that he should not be called that as he isn’t bowling.
“He has to do both the jobs to be considered an all-rounder. He is not bowling so can we call him all-rounder? Let him bowl, he has come out from the injury. He is an extremely important batter to the country, for bowling he has to play a lot more matches, perform and bowl and then we will say,” Kapil Dev said at the Royal Calcutta Golf Course.
IND vs NZ: Kapil Dev dismisses all-rounder tag for Hardik Pandya, questions ‘How can you call him all-rounder if he isn’t bowling?’
IND vs NZ: Hardik Pandya not an all-rounder anymore?
- Hardik Pandya was dropped for the home series against New Zealand.
- He has been asked to report at the NCA and pass fitness test to be eligible for South Africa tour.
- Hardik bowled only four overs in five matches in the T20 World Cup without any success.
- His fitness problems meant, he could not bat at his best and failed to play the role of a finisher.
- Selectors and the BCCI are not considering him for Tests anymore.
- The selectors are already looking for replacements and Venkatesh Iyer is one who has been tried in the NZ series.
IND vs NZ: Kapil Dev dismisses all-rounder tag for Hardik Pandya, questions ‘How can you call him all-rounder if he isn’t bowling?’
However, Kapil Dev is happy that Rahul Dravid has been appointed the full-time coach. Kapil predicted that Rahul Dravid the coach will be a bigger success than the immensely accomplished Dravid the cricketer. Dravid began his new innings as the Indian team’s head coach in the ongoing series against New Zealand, a post he has been given till the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
IND vs NZ: “He’s a good man, a good cricketer. He will do a better job as a coach than as a cricketer because in cricket nobody has done better than him. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed,” Kapil Dev said.
Dravid earlier served as the head of National Cricket Academy and was also the coach of India’s Under-19 and A teams, nurturing several young talents who went on to represent the country with distinction.
IND vs NZ: Kapil Dev dismisses all-rounder tag for Hardik Pandya, questions ‘How can you call him all-rounder if he isn’t bowling?’