West Indies legend says Hardik Pandya is far from the level needed to press forward his case as a genuine Test allrounder (1:37)
Hardik Pandya is not yet ready to take the allrounder’s spot in India’s Test team, according to former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding, because he is not effective as a batsman and lacks control and consistency with the ball.
“The [Indian] attack has not been the right balance,” Holding told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday at an event at Lord’s. “Apparently they are playing Hardik Pandya as an allrounder to help out with the bowling. When he bowls he isn’t as effective as he should be. If he was a good batsman, if he was getting runs – 60s, 70s, not even regular hundreds – at the number at which he bats and then he bowls and gets two or three wickets, happy, hallelujah. Happy with that. But he is not getting the amount of runs that can then allow him to get a wicket or two in the Test match. That doesn’t work.”
Pandya made his Test debut last July in Sri Lanka, scoring a fifty in Galle and followed it with his maiden Test century in Pallekelle in his third Test. He has played nine Tests so far and, barring the home series against Sri Lanka for which he was rested late last year, he has been the only constant in the Test XI along with captain Virat Kohli.
Pandya is clearly more a batsman than a bowler as the numbers show. He has scored 458 runs at an average of 32.71 with a century and three half-centuries. As a bowler, Pandya has just 10 wickets at an average of 39.30 and a strike rate of 71.50. Overseas, Kohli has mostly used Pandya as a relief capsule for the frontline bowlers. The Lord’s Test was Pandya’s most hectic in a single innings in terms of bowling workload as he bowled 17.1 overs, and performed the role of the third seamer, assisting the new-ball pair of Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, as Umesh Yadav was dropped for Kuldeep Yadav.
That Pandya was forced to bowl more was a consequence of Kohli’s decision to field two spinners in wet and overcast conditions. Pandya picked three wickets, having gone wicketless in the first Test at Edgbaston. Incidentally, Pandya is the second-highest run-scorer for India behind Kohli in four innings this series. But the fact that R Ashwin is five runs behind Pandya, who has scored 90 in the two Tests, only highlights Pandya’s achievements in what has been a horrific series for Indian batsmen so far.
Before the Lord’s Test, Pandya had gone wicketless for four Tests starting from the second match in South African in January. Doing an appraisal of Pandya’s bowling, Holding, who is commentating on the Pataudi Trophy for Sky Sports, said Pandya did not have many skillsets.
“I don’t think he does a lot with the ball. That is number one. He is not consistent. He does not have the control that puts batsmen under pressure constantly. He will bowl a couple of good deliveries, yes, but you need to have the control to put batsmen under pressure consistently. And he doesn’t have that. If you are going to be a frontline bowler anywhere in the world, if you are going to be someone that your captain can rely on, that can throw you the ball and expect you to get wickets and expect you to have control, he is not really the man in my opinion.”
Holding also said that by playing Pandya as the third seamer, India were shooting themselves in the foot because Pandya did not have the “firepower” to help them buy 20 wickets. You need firepower in this country [to] get you your 20 wickets,” he said.
Asked to describe his role after the third day’s play at Lord’s, Pandya did not want to classify himself as a batting or a bowling arllounder. “If I’m batting I think as a batsman and if I’m bowling I think as a bowler. I don’t have any one particular role,” Pandya had said.
Holding said India were trying to make Pandya perform the roles of two players, which right now he is not well equipped to deal with. He further said he would play Pandya in the third Test, which starts at Trent Bridge from Saturday, only if left with no other choice.
“Not if I have someone else who is fit,” Holding said. “If there is no one else, sure you have to play him. If there is someone else that is a specialist batsman or specialist bowler I will certainly prefer that. There must be someone that can bat better if they want a batsman, there must be someone who can bowl better if they want a bowler. But it seems as if they are trying to fill two spots with one person. He (Pandya) is not there yet.”
Despite his scathing assessment of Pandya, Holding said he had nothing against the player. Pandya, Holding pointed out, is young and has time to develop as an allrounder, but Holding said there was no point thinking of Pandya as the next Kapil Dev, the greatest allrounder India have had.
“I am not going to tell anyone that you won’t be there because he is a young man. But he is not there yet. 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 need to find someone who can contribute a lot more to this team right now.”
Michael Holding was speaking at the launch of Proatar, a mentoring app that puts amateur cricketers in touch with elite players to help them raise their game.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo