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'I don't want to be Kapil Dev; let me be Hardik Pandya'

Hardik Pandya takes a jibe at pundits who wrote him off

By Unnikrishnan
Hardik Pandya has played down comparison with Kapil Dev

Nottingham, August 20: Hardik Pandya routed England with his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket and then urged pundits to assess him on his own merits after the West Indies great Michael Holding said he was "nowhere near" becoming the "next Kapil Dev".

Pace-bowling all-rounder Pandya, playing in just his 10th Test, made the most of the swing-friendly conditions on offer to take five for 28 as England collapsed to 161 all out at Trent Bridge on Sunday. India then pressed home their advantage to be 124 for two at stumps in their second innings, a commanding lead of 292 runs on just the second day of the third Test.

"I have never wanted to be Kapil Dev," Pandya told reporters. "Let me be Hardik Pandya, I am good at being Hardik Pandya, I played 41 ODIS and 10 Tests being Hardik Pandya, not Kapil Dev," he said.

MATCH REPORT</a> | <a class=READ IN KANNADA" title="MATCH REPORT | READ IN KANNADA" />MATCH REPORT | READ IN KANNADA

Prior to this match, the 24-year-old Pandya was averaging 32 with the bat and 39 with the ball in Test cricket.

That led West Indies fast-bowling great Holding to suggest India needed to "find someone who can contribute a lot more to this team right now" The now 59-year-old Kapil scored 5,248 runs at 31.05, including eight hundreds, during a 131-Test career that yielded 434 wickets at 29.64 as well.

"I don't think he does a lot with the ball," said Holding. "He is not consistent." Holding, now a television commentator who is covering the England-India series for Sky Sports, insisted "I heard a mention, when I was working in South Africa: 'he is the next Kapil Dev'. I ain't going to tell anybody he's not going to be the next Kapil Dev, but he is nowhere near there yet.

"And they (India) need to find someone who can contribute a lot more to this team right now."

But having made his mark at Trent Bridge, significantly as a fourth seamer in a rebalanced attack following the return of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah from injury, Pandya said he had no interest in being compared to great players of the past.

"They (the players of Holding's generation) have created their era, let me be Hardik Pandya, let's stop comparing me with anyone," he said. "My team is happy with me. Nothing else matters."

Story first published: Monday, August 20, 2018, 18:54 [IST]
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