Kapil Dev lavishes praise on Hardik Pandya

Kapil Dev heaps praises on Hardik Pandya (PC: Twitter)

The decorated all-rounder Hardik Pandya was the man in focus as India triumphed over Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup 2022 battle. In the first innings, Pandya exploited the conditions with the ball by picking up three prized wickets of Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Khushdil Shah.

The all-rounder’s magic spell of 3/25 restricted Pakistan to a low score of 147. Pandya again emerged as the wrecker-in-chief in the second innings when India were in trouble with a score of 89-4 in 14.2 overs. He hammered 33 runs while facing 17 balls to steer India to a win in 19.4 overs.

The sensational performance by the 28-year-old left the former Indian skipper and the veteran all-rounder Kapil Dev in awe. The legend believes that the players like Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja make a team complete with their three-dimensional contributions.

Kapil Dev worried about Pandya’s injuries

Dev also reflected on how the Gujarat Titans skipper needs to take special care of his physical health to ensure a prolonged run in international cricket. India can’t afford to lose a player like Pandya with a lot of major events in the pipeline.

In an interview with ANI, Pandya said,

“Hardik has made us so proud. Only thing is that he has to look after himself. Because when a person of his ability gets injured, the whole team gets injured. His ability nobody can doubt, the only thing I am worried about sometimes is his injuries.”

Pandya has not been lucky when it comes to injuries. It was just a few months back that the 28-year-old recovered from his back injury. The injury had prohibited the all-rounder from bowling much. 

The absence of Pandya as a bowler is also termed as one of the reasons behind India’s torrid run in the T20 World Cup last year. However, he is back into the groove both with the bat and ball since the Indian Premier League 2022.

Also Read: His hard work has paid off: Rashid Khan on Hardik Pandya's resurgence