Kapil Dev lashes out at Hardik Pandya for his foolishness

New Delhi : Former India captain and legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev slammed India cricketer Hardik Pandya for making silly mistakes in the second Test match against South Africa. Kapil Dev said Pandya does not deserve to be compared with him if he keeps making silly mistakes. Pandya, who is often considered as the best all-rounder after Kapil, threw his wicket away in the fourth innings of the Centurion Test which the visitors lost by a margin of 135 runs.

"If Pandya keeps making silly mistakes like these then he doesn't deserve to be compared with me," Dev was quoted by ABP News as saying. Dev was reacting to Pandya's dismissal in the second innings. Chasing a target of 287 in the fourth innings, India were reeling at 65 for five when Pandya came into bat. Pandya was on 6 when he went for his famous ramp shot and chased a wide ball off Lungi Ngidi, only managing an edge to wicketkeeper Quinton De Kock.

In the first inning too, Pandya ran himself out when he forgot to ground his bat. The casual approach was criticised by experts. "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.