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'Hardik Pandya & Ravindra Jadeja, With Due respect, Aren't Quite There': Sanjay Manjrekar

image-lmejeg1dRavindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya form India's white-ball backbone [X.com]

Ever since the retirement of Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricket has failed to unearth a talent like the star all-rounder, who singlehandedly turned matches on its head. Several players have been tried out in a similar role like Singh's in One-Day International (ODI) but have not lived up to the stark expectations. 

Current Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya form a vital cog in India's plans of lifting the upcoming World Cup 2023, as both provide balance to the side.

Former players Sanjay Manjrekar and Waqar Younis, speaking during India's clash with Pakistan on Sunday in Asia Cup 2023, touched upon the debate regarding a worthy successor to Singh, whereas per the former both Pandya and Jadeja fell short.

Speaking on Star Sports, Younis highlighted the importance of the duo in white-ball cricket for India, only for Manjrekar to term Singh cut above Pandya and Jadeja. 

Here's how the conversation went

Manjrekar: "Yuvraj is arguably India's best white-ball batter. He could win games and was in a different league. Hardik and Jadeja, with due respect, aren't quite there. These tworare far better bowlers than Yuvraj Singh but because that one discipline was so discipled," 

Younis: "Not even Hardik Pandya? With the kind of batting that he has shown? I am not comparing them but the intention is there," 

Manjrekar: "He has the potential but when I see him at this stage, it's not a guarantee that he will come and bowl all 10 overs like one of the mainstream bowlers. I see him as more of a batting all-rounder and he batted really well in the last game.

"So yes, they have this combined skill to make the kind of contribution made but one discipline of Yuvraj Singh, like I said, was at a different level. In pitches that help Jadeja the bowler, his batting will come through but Hardik the batter doesn't need a bad ball or loose ball to decide that this needs to go."

Widely regarded as one of the best limited-overs cricketers, Singh featured in 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is for India and lifted two World Cup titles (2007 T20 WC and 2011 CWC).