Gavaskar rubbishes Hardik’s comparison with Kapil Dev, says former all-rounder ‘once in a century’ cricketer

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar might have had his share of the spat with legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev when they played together, but that hasn’t stopped him from defending his one-time colleague when it comes to comparison with Hardik Pandya, a cricketer who is yet to achieve similar heights in cricket.

Lashing out at the comparison that is being made between Dev and current Indian all-rounder Pandya, the 69-year-old former Indian opener said the former all-rounder is a once-in-a-century cricketer and is beyond comparisons.

We should not compare him with anyone

Gavaskar was clearly not amused when asked about the tendency of some experts to compare Pandya with the former Indian captain. “Kapil Dev should not be compared with anyone. He is not just a once-in-generation player but a once-in-a-century cricketer just like Sir Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar. We should not compare him with anyone,” a visibly agitated Gavaskar told Aaj Tak.

Hardik Pandya had an ordinary outing in the first Test against England in Birmingham and did not even get to bowl in the second innings. He went wicketless in the first and scored 22 and 51 runs in the two innings, prompting former West Indian great Michael Holding to call for him to be removed and make way for Cheteshwar Pujara in the second Test at Lord’s starting in two days.

Gavaskar also expressed his displeasure with opener Shikhar Dhawan’s approach to Test cricket. Preferred over Pujara, the left-handed batsman scored only 26 and 13 in the first Test to cement his critics’ belief that he is not suitable enough for a place in the Test team. The Delhi-born cricketer currently has 161 runs in four Test matches in England.

Gavaskar reckons that Dhawan has to alter his batting technique in order to taste a significant amount of success in overseas Tests. The former batsman also opined in favour of playing an extra batsman in the Lord’s Test. India is currently 1-0 down in the five-match Test series.

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