Former India skipper Mohammed Azharuddin said there cannot be another Kapil Dev as the comparisons between Hardik Pandya and the World Cup-winning skipper is increasing in recent times. Pandya’s hurricane innings of 93 in the Cape Town Test against South Africa on a difficult track and gave further fuel to the comparison between him and Dev.

During a school event, Azhar said, “It is not advisable to do that. It is not good because there can never be another Kapil Dev. It is very difficult to get another Kapil Dev as the amount of hard work and workload he took over a period of time – he used to bowl 20-25 overs in a day – not many people can do it now.”

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The Indian cricket team suffered demoralizing back-to-back defeats in the first and the second Test against South Africa but bounced back to win the final Test on the back of a splendid bowling show.

Terming the result as “unlucky”, Azharuddin said: “The bowlers won the last Test match. They really put South African batsmen under pressure. We were a bit unlucky that we could not get the series our way. It is good that we won the last Test. We redeemed our prestige. The team played very well in tough conditions. It was not an easy wicket to play on.”

He further added, “They batted well, bowled well everything clicked together. I am very happy with the team’s victory. In the ODIs, hopefully, our batting will click and we will win the series.”

On the questionable moment of the series was of dropping Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the second Test, and not playing Ajinkya Rahane till the third Test. talking about the same, Mohammed  Azharuddin said: “I think they could have been played, but the captain and the team think in a different way. Outside everybody in India thinks they should have played.”

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The former skipper also praised skipper Virat Kohli for his leadership skills and said his records speak for him. With Prithvi Shaw’s India Under-19 doing pretty good in the ongoing World Cup after their 203-run thrashing of Pakistan, Azhar hopes they will claim a fourth title. He said, “All the best boys. They have done the nation proud. Today’s game – to get a team all out for 69 speaks volumes of the talent they possess. I hope they come back with the World Cup.”

Azharuddin, who is having a rift with the Hyderabad Cricket Association after charges were leveled against him by president G Vivek, was prohibited from attending the SGM earlier this month. He said, “I will meet (Committee of Administrators chairman) Vinod Rai. He was traveling and I was not able to have a word with him. I will definitely like to give back to the game whether it will be coaching or as an administrator.”