ENG vs IND 2018: Pandya should derive inspiration from Stokes, says Scott Styris

Pandya is seen as the next Kapil Dev in Indian cricket.

Ben Stokes - Hardik Pandya. (Reuters)

One of the highlights from the many failures of the Indian players in the first Test was Hardik Pandya's failure. He did not get wickets in the first innings and was not bowled in the second innings by Kohli. With the bat he scored a total of 56 runs in both the innings and failed to live up with the expectations when everyone expected him to take India to a win. 

His failure becomes all the more prominent after Ben Stokes' incredible performance for England.  Stokes though he failed with the bat, made it up with the ball picking up  6 wickets in the game and that too at crucial junctures. 

Scott Styris who is a part of the commentary team in the ongoing TNPL season voiced out his concern regarding Pandya saying that he should derive confidence from Stokes' performance ahead of the second Test at Lord's. 

"Everybody expects Pandya to win games. He also tries to deliver to those expectations and ends up doing too many things. Currently, I would just like him to make meaningful contributions in every game like the way Stokes did. If he can do small things right, we would see him taking the next step of becoming a match-winner. Throughout the history of the game, we have seen allrounders challenging each other. So I hope Stokes can motivate him". 

Styris feels Pandya has a long way to go before he can step into the shoes of the legendary allrounder. "I have seen Pandya from close quarters and I know how good he can be. India has only been scratching the surface of his potential. He can be the next Kapil Dev in this country but right now he is nowhere close to him". 

Styris said that Pandya needs to find the right balance in his game. "It's a difficult job to be a frontline bowler and a frontline batsman. What happens is that the batting will dominate one season while it might be bowling in the next. It happens to every all-rounder. So Pandya has to find the right balance. "

Pandya in his eight Tests,  has only picked up seven wickets and scored 421 runs, including a century, at an average of 35. 

(With TOI inputs) 


 

 
 

By Anshuman Roy - 07 Aug, 2018

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