Hardik Pandya has come into the limelight once again after the selectors and team management decided not to name him as the captain of the T20I team.
Following his impressive performance at the T20 World Cup last month, he was expected to replace Rohit Sharma as India’s new captain in the T20Is. Apart from his good performance, Hardik Pandya was also the vice-captain of the team during the tournament. Unsurprisingly, many expected him to become the captain.
However, the team management decided to hand over the responsibility to Suryakumar Yadav. Many believe that Hardik Pandya deserved the captaincy and that he was treated very badly. And with the Indian all-rounder hogging all the limelight at the moment, former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris has shared his thoughts on him.
In a recent interview, Styris praised the Indian star as a “phenomenally skilled cricketer” and said that he is on par with someone like Ben Stokes in terms of skill. However, Styris also said that Pandya is yet to do justice to his skills. The former cricketer-turned-commentator said that Pandya needs to be more consistent with his performances to be considered one of the best in the world.
“This champion all-rounder has as much skill as anyone. He is probably in a similar skill zone as someone like Ben Stokes. He is far more talented than that (his recent performances),” Styris told PTI.
“He’s a phenomenal cricketer of ability, but he hasn’t shown it consistently enough for my liking yet. So let him come out and say: now you have to lead us with your performance,” he said.
“I think the skills that Indian fans need to see from him now is to be available all the time on the field and then deliver those performances with both bat and ball,” he added.
Be that dominant all-rounder: Scott Styris to Hardik Pandya
Scott Styris further said that Hardik Pandya will have to work on his body to become a consistent player. The all-rounder has suffered a series of injuries in recent times and it is also one of the main reasons why he was not named as the T20I captain. Styris said that Pandya should work on becoming an all-rounder who can play consistently with both the bat and the ball.
“I want to see him get back into shape and be that dominant all-rounder that we know him to be. Bowling is really hard work and he is someone who has all the skills and talent.”
“I want to see him as that true all-rounder and someone who can be relied on with both bat and ball, not just someone who is here every now and then with the ball and comes in for a cameo,” Styris said.
Pandya will be in action next Saturday (July 27) when Team India and Sri Lanka play the first match of the three-match T20I series. India are in Sri Lanka for three T20Is and as many ODIs. Pandya is part of the T20I squad but not the ODI squad.