Since the retirement of the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, Team India was in a  desperate need of fast bowling all-rounder. Players such as Irfan Pathan, Stuart Binny, Rishi Dhawan, etc have arrived but couldn’t make a huge impact.

But now, it seems that Hardik Pandya has all the ingredients that were needed and it might be able to fill in the big boots of Kapil Dev. Since the last couple of years, Hardik has developed as a formidable prospect in the Indian XI.

From scoring runs at a brisk pace to getting crucial dismissals, Pandya has aced it all. On Sunday, when he dismissed Sachith Pathirana, Hardik completed 30 wickets in 2017 and with his tally of 557 runs, he completed the double of 30 wickets and 500 runs in a calendar year.

The all-rounder thus became the second Indian to complete the milestone. The first player was, of course, the legendary and World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev. The former Indian all-rounder had achieved the feat in 1986. Thus, Kapil finally has someone for the company in the 31-year-old record list.

In those 12 months 31 years ago, Kapil managed to score 517 runs and scalped  32 wickets in 27 ODIs. His best innings were of 58, while the best bowling figures read 4/30.

Pandya has finished 2017 with 31 ODI scalps with a best of 3/40. In terms of runs, he surpassed Kapil by scoring 557 runs with a career best of 83. He scored four half-centuries in total. His 31 wickets in 2017 also helped him to become the fifth in the list of highest wicket-takers in ODIs of 2017.