Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev believes Hardik Pandya does not deserve to be compared with him if he keeps making silly mistakes like he did in the second Test against South Africa. Chasing 287 to win, Indian batsmen once again collapsed like a pack of cards on the fifth and final day of Centurion Test, losing the match by a big margin of 135 runs. Pandya is often considered as India's best all-rounder since the days of India's first World Cup winning skipper - Kapil Dev.
The 'Haryana Hurricane' criticised Pandya's batting performance in the second Test against South Africa in Centurion.
"If Pandya keeps making silly mistakes like these then he doesn't deserve to be compared with me," Dev told a leading news channel.
Dev was reacting to Pandya's dismissal in the second innings. Chasing a target of 287 in the fourth innings, India were reeling at 65 for five when Pandya came into bat.
Pandya was on 6 when he went for his famous ramp shot and chased a wide ball off Lungi Ngidi, only managing an edge to wicketkeeper Quinton De Kock.
In the first inning too, Pandya ran himself out when he forgot to ground his bat. The casual approach was criticised many cricket experts.
"He definitely has a lot of talent, he has shown it in the first Test but I believe he needs to work on the mental aspect," Kapil said.
Earlier, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar also slammed opener Lokesh Rahul for the manner of his dismissal in India's second innings.
Former India cricketer Sandeep Patil also mentioned that comparing the two was not ideal because Pandya is still in early stages of his cricketing career. "I have played a lot of cricket with Kapil, really there is no comparison. Kapil played 15 years for India with terrific performance and Pandya is only in his fifth Test match. There is a long way to go," Patil said.
(With PTI Inputs)
