Hardik Pandya not ready yet for all-rounder spot, says Michael Holding

Hardik Pandya and Michael Holding

West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding believes that Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya is not effective enough to be called an all-rounder. The 64-year-old expressed that Pandya is not as impactful with the ball as he should be and as a batsman, he is not getting the required amount of runs.

"When he bowls he isn't as effective as he should be. If he was a good batsman, if he was getting runs - 60s, 70s, not even regular hundreds - at the number at which he bats and then he bowls and gets two or three wickets, happy, hallelujah. Happy with that. But he is not getting the amount of runs that can then allow him to get a wicket or two in the Test match. That doesn't work," ESPNcricinfo.com quoted Holdin, as saying.

"If you are going to be a frontline bowler anywhere in the world, if you are going to be someone that your captain can rely on, that can throw you the ball and expect you to get wickets and expect you to have control, he is not really the man in my opinion," he added.

Holding also opined that India seem to be trying to fill two spots with one person but "He (Pandya) is not there yet." The West Indies pacer further asserted that he has nothing against the Indian player but it is too soon to compare him with the likes of Kapil Dev. "I am not going to tell anyone that you won't be there because he is a young man. But he is not there yet," he said.

"I heard a mention when I was working in South Africa: 'he is the next Kapil Dev'. I ain't going to tell anybody he's not going to be the next Kapil Dev, but he is nowhere near there yet. And they need to find someone who can contribute a lot more to this team right now," he added.

Pandya took four wickets in the second Test of the ongoing five-match series against India while in the first Test at Edgbaston he went wicketless. He has scored 458 runs with an average of 32.71 in 9 Test matches that he has played so far while with the bowl, he has scalped 10 wickets with a meagre economy rate of 3.3.

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