India’s former all-rounder and World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has lashed out at current Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya for his perky approach, which cost India crucial moments in the second Test against South Africa at Centurion.

Kapil Dev also said Hardik Pandya does not deserve to be compared with him if he keeps making silly mistakes like he did in the second Test. Dev criticized Pandya’s batting performance and said, “If Pandya keeps making silly mistakes like these then he doesn’t deserve to be compared with me.”

Pandya is often considered as India’s best all-rounder since the days of the legendary Dev. Dev criticised Pandya’s batting performance.

In the first innings of the match, Pandya was run out, as instead of dragging his bat into the crease, he casually tried to enter it with the throw from mid-on ending up hitting the stumps. His bat, as well as both his feet, were in the air as South Africa got rid of him cheaply.

Coming to the second innings, with India in a terrible channel on the 5th day while chasing 287, India were reeling at 65 for five when Pandya came into bat. Pandya was on 6 and attempted his famous ramp shot where he swiftly lifted the ball over the slips for a big hit. But the ball came off the tip of the bat for wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock to jump at and grab a good catch.

“He definitely has a lot of talent, he has shown it in the first Test but I believe he needs to work on the mental aspect,” Kapil said.

Former India cricketer Sandeep Patil also mentioned that comparing the two was not ideal because Pandya is still in early stages of his cricketing career. “I have played a lot of cricket with Kapil, really there is no comparison. Kapil played 15 years for India with terrific performance and Pandya is only in his fifth Test match. There is a long way to go,” Patil said.

The final Test between South Africa and India starts on January 24 at Johannesburg with the hosts having already taken an unbeatable 2-0 lead. Post the Tests, the limited-overs leg of the tour will kick off, with 6 ODIs and 3 T20s to be played.

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