Former India all-rounder Roger Binny reckons that the flamboyant Hardik Pandya is lucky to be deemed as an all-rounder. Asserting that Hardik should not be compared to former India World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev, Binny said that Pandya has been able to keep his place in the Indian side only because of his ability to chip in with the ball and grab a few wickets.

Pandya’s recent form in the tour to South Africa has been anything above average. In the Test matches, he only managed to score 119 runs at an average of 10. In the ODI’s he managed 26 runs in 4 matches at a poor average of 8.67.

Also read: Harsha Bhogle points out the major issues of Hardik Pandya

As quoted in TOI, talking about Pandya, Binny said, “He’s lucky to get viewed as an allrounder. He doesn’t contribute with the bat. He is chipping in with the ball, and that’s why he’s been able to keep his place in the team.”

Hardik should go back to first-class cricket

He further added, “He has got into the Test team based on his exploits in T20 cricket. Limited-overs cricket is a different ball game altogether – you can get runs in those formats because the field is spread out.”

Also read: Hardik Pandya Gets A New Brand Endorsement

Explaining why Pandya should go back to the basics and play some first-class cricket, Binny said that former India World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev had scored tons of runs on the domestic circuit before making it to the first team. He said, “As a batsman, he’s no patch on Kapil Dev. Kapil got hundreds in first-class cricket before he broke into India’s Test side. Pandya hasn’t scored runs in first-class cricket before playing at the top level.”