Hardik ‘ideal’ all-rounder after Kapil Dev : Rajput
MUMBAI: Former India cricket manager Lalchand Rajput feels Hardik Pandya is the “ideal all-rounder” that the national team has been aspiring since the departure of legendary Kapil Dev.
“Hardik Pandya is an exceptional cricketer. The talent he has got, I have seen him at the NCA (National Cricket Academy) and then he was with me at the Zonal Camp (ZCA). He has got tremendous talent. He is an ideal all-rounder after Kapil Dev,” Rajput said uring an interaction on Tuesday. The 23-yearold Pandya played a crucial knock in the first ODI against Australia in Chennai, which eventually helped India to win the ODI by 26 runs via Duckworth Lewis method.
“Because his batting is excellent, he can play in all formats. Earlier, people used to say he is good in shorter version, but in a Test match also he can turn the game. He took the first game away from the Australians (in Chennai). He can clear boundaries at will and that’s the hallmark of a good batsman. His bowling is good and he is an outstanding fielder. He has the ingredients to be the next Kapil Dev. But still he has to perform upto a level to attain Kapil’s stature. But certainly, he has it in him to be the allrounder that the Indian team was looking at,” Rajput elaborated. Rajput recollected how he was impressed by Hardik’s clean hitting during a Zonal Cricket Academy camp.
“And he (Hardik) just loved (to hit the ball) it. And get out. Now he has become matured. I always used to tell him proper shot selection will take you higher. The more he plays, he is getting more matured and becoming a reliable lower-order batsman,” said the 55-year-old former Mumbai player.
On the present India Australia series, Rajput said India has the moment as they have clinched the first game.
“Australians are tough nuts to crack but we (India) have got the momentum. The Indian team is playing topclass cricket and it is difficult to beat them,” said Rajput, who was the Cricket Manager, when India won the inaugural T20 World Cup.
Rajput will be joining the Assam team as their head coach, for the upcoming domestic season, which begins on October 6. JOHANNESBURG: The Indian cricket team will start its new year with a tour to South Africa, which is likely to commence on January 5 or 6 in Cape Town.
According to a report, both the countries’ cricket boards — Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the BCCI — will be finalising the dates of the matches in the next few days.
Despite holding discussions since the beginning of the year, CSA and BCCI are yet to finalise the schedule. As per the ICC’S Future Tours Programme, the tour will have a four-test series, three One-day Internationals and three T20IS.
The BCCI had earlier made it clear that the Indian team would not arrive in South Africa until the last week of this year as their home series against Sri Lanka would end only on December 24.
The Indian Cricket Board wants its players to take a short break before they depart for South Africa. They had also insisted on preparation time for the team ahead of a big series and requested to play at least one warm-up match.
Traditionally, the New Year’s Test has been played at Newlands from January 2.
CSA was keen on having the first Test from January 4 to ensure maximum gate money, considering the match is usually a sellout during the holiday week in South Africa. “India are now expected to land in the last few days of December and would definitely play one practice match before the first Test,” an official involved in the discussions was quoted as saying.
Discussions between CSA and BCCI got complicated because the Indian board was not impressed with South Africa finalising the schedule for the Australian series, scheduled to start on March 1.
The March 1 start of South Africa-australia series would make the time frame for the India tour a tight one. “Now they (CSA) are trying to fit in everything within a short window,” the official said.