Legendary Windies fast bowler Michael Holding justified his criticism of Hardik Pandya, saying he aimed to criticize the people who were comparing Hardik to Kapil Dev, and not of Pandya himself. Holding had said after the Lord’s Test that Pandya was not a Test all-rounder yet and opined that India were incorrectly trying to fill two spots with one player.

Pandya gave a strong reply to all those criticisms in the third Test in Nottingham, claiming a five-wicket haul in the first innings before slamming a half-century in the second.

Describing the same while talking to Times of India, Holding said, “Please go back and listen to or read what I have said about Pandya. I was more critical of the people who were telling me he is the next Kapil Dev, not of Pandya himself. I have gone on to say that he is not the man to fill that sort of role as yet, batting at No. 6 and bowling. What I am glad also to see is that I read somewhere that he had said he doesn’t want to be known as the new Kapil Dev; he is Hardik Pandya, which is the right attitude.”

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Despite the all-around performance, Holding suggested Pandya has a long way to go particularly with his bowling.

The legendary bowler, described, “He (Pandya) only bowled 10 overs in the entire first Test (Edgbaston) and 17 in the entire second Test where the seamers on both teams were making the ball talk and batsmen were struggling. He got no runs in either of the first two Tests as well. He bowled a lot more in the third Test and maybe that is down to the fact that he got a wicket with his first delivery, which then convinced his captain to give him more overs than in the first two Tests.”

Earlier, Holding had also criticised Jasprit Bumrah, saying that the pacer isn’t good enough for the English conditions. Like Pandya did, Bumrah too impressed in the game with a second-innings 5-fer that sealed the win for India. Holding, though, still stuck to his opinion, saying Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami were better options for the new ball.

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Holding concluded, “What I have seen is he can get the ball to straighten from wide of the crease and is more effective with the slightly older ball. What you have to remember is that in England, with so much assistance from both pitch and atmosphere for the quick bowlers, Bumrah will get the odd ball to straighten on the right-handers’ off-stump, although his action doesn’t enhance his ability to do so. The same delivery in South Africa, Australia, etc would not straighten as it can tend to do in England. He has pace, though, which is a welcome asset that cannot be bought.”