Harbhajan also compared Hardik Pandya’s performance to English all-rounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes.
Hardik Pandya (Photo: AFP)
Veteran Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has been critical of the Indian cricket team after back-to-back losses in the first two Test matches against England in the ongoing five-match series.
Speaking to Aaj Tak, Harbhajan said, “all-rounder tag should be removed from Hardik Pandya,” adding that “it is unfair to think that a youngster will turn into a talent like Kapil Dev overnight”.
“He (Hardik Pandya) hasn’t got many runs as a batsman and the captain doesn’t seem to have confidence in his bowling. If he doesn’t bowl in these conditions then things will only get difficult for him and the Indian team in the future,” Harbhajan was quoted saying to AajTak.
Advertisement
Harbhajan also compared Hardik Pandya’s performance to English all-rounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, who were the star performers in the first and second Test matches, respectively.
“We have to remove the all-rounder tag from him as an all-rounder contributes in both the departments as Stokes, Curran did in the first Test and now Woakes has done at the Lord’s. The same is expected of Hardik Pandya, he cannot become Kapil Dev overnight,” Harbhajan added.
England have taken a lead of 2-0 after defeating India in the first Test at Edgbaston by 31 runs and then by an innings and 159 runs at Lord’s.
“As a bowling unit, we tried but all of a sudden the ball stopped swinging and they – (Chris) Woakes and (Jonny) Bairstow – took the game away,” Pandya had said at the post-match conference.
“It happens – I’ve seen in Tests. You get four or five wickets quickly and then you get one partnership. Even with our batting line-up, it has happened many times. It’s just a part of the game,” Pandya added.
Advertisement
