“Doesn’t look like he will” - Kapil Dev’s blunt response on whether Hardik Pandya should play Tests again

Former India captain Kapil Dev bluntly commented that he doesn’t feel all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be playing too many Tests in the future. Kapil agreed that Pandya should play red-ball cricket if fit but doesn’t see that happening.

The debate over whether Pandya’s body can take the workload of Test cricket has been doing the rounds in Indian cricket for a while. The 29-year-old made his red-ball debut for India in Sri Lanka in 2017 but hasn’t played a Test since the tour of England in 2018.

According to former England captain Nasser Hussain, India need an all-rounder like Ben Stokes if they want to succeed in overseas Tests. Asked if Pandya can do the job for India in red-ball cricket, Kapil told The Times of India:

“Doesn’t look like he will.” The Indian legend added, “I saw his photograph on the billboard today.

"I don’t know whether they did any touch-up or not, but in that, he looked like having one of the finest bodies we have in the country. Yes, he should play more cricket because he has so much ability. If he is fit, he should play Test cricket also.”

Earlier, in an interview with The Week magazine, Kapil disagreed with former India head coach Ravi Shastri’s views that Pandya’s body cannot cope with the physical demands of Test cricket.

The Indian all-rounder suffered a severe lower-back injury during the Asia Cup in 2018, and his bowling has taken a hit since.

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“Jadeja is fantastic; Ashwin is doing a great job” - Kapil Dev on all-rounders in India’s current setup

While India haven’t found a fast-bowling all-rounder in Kapil Dev’s mold since the legend’s retirement in 1994, the man himself doesn’t feel the situation is all that alarming.

The former player pointed out that while there has been a dearth of pacers who can bat, India have produced quality spin-bowling all-rounders.

“I don’t think it is right to compare players. Last 20-30 years, we have produced enough fast bowlers whom we can depend on. And that is more important.

"And it is not just fast-bowling all-rounders you require. You need spin-bowling all-rounders as well. And you have some decent ones in the Indian team. Jadeja is fantastic. Ashwin is doing a great job. So it isn’t that we don’t have any all-rounders at all,” Kapil opined.

While Ashwin has claimed 489 Test scalps, he also has five tons. As for Jadeja, he has picked up 275 wickets and has three Test hundreds.