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Rashid Latif draws comparison between Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes

image-l8d8a7fxBen Stokes and Hardik Pandya (PC: Twitter)

Hardik Pandya is living a dream in international cricket. Following a sabbatical of a few months, the all-rounder made a comeback to the gentlemen’s game with the Indian Premier League 2022. Leading the newly formed franchise Gujarat Titans, Pandya excelled in all departments be it batting, bowling or fielding.

As Gujarat lifted the cup, the all-rounder scored runs at an average of 44.27 and a strike rate of 131.27. He was instrumental with the ball as well by taking eight wickets at an economy rate of 7.28. Pandya is playing extremely well for India. He made a powerful impact as an all-rounder during the India tour of England and Asia Cup 2022.

A glance at Hardik’s sensational performance

Hardik produced another terrific performance against Australia in the first T20 International. The 28-year-old smacked 71* runs off just 30 balls to steer India to a massive score of 208 runs. His exploits have sparked a debate in the cricket fraternity on who is a better all-rounder between Pandya and England Test skipper Ben Stokes.

Former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif also gave his two cents on the trending debate. The all-rounder believes that it is not correct to compare the two players. While Pandya is still climbing the ladder of success, Stokes has already established himself as the number one all-rounder in the world.

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Latif said,

“I’m not referring to the game today, but Ben Stokes has a proven record. He won Test matches for England and the World Cup too. Stokes is way ahead of Hardik, based on the international trophies.”

Former skipper highlights the difference between Pandya and Stokes

Latif believes that the Indian star needs to win ICC trophies for India to be in the same league as England's Test skipper. He also mentioned that Pandya has just played a few good innings, and he needs to achieve a lot more to leapfrog the English all-rounder. Notably, Stokes played the leading role in his team’s victory in the 2019 World Cup.

“So, I don’t think you can even compare when it comes to (performances) on the ground. Because a trophy is a trophy. Ben Stokes is way ahead of Hardik in that. Having said that, yes, some of Hardik’s innings have been better than Ben Stokes, but having better innings and being better than Stokes are two completely different things.”

Pandya will have an opportunity to equal Stokes in terms of International trophies during the T20I World Cup 2022 scheduled next month in Australia.

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