When former India opener and selector Kris Srikkanth mentioned that Hardik Pandya reminded him of Kapil Dev, Hardik Pandya minimize in to say, “He [Kapil Dev] is the best!”
In a pleasant post-match interplay on Star Sports activities, Srikkanth prefaced his remark by saying “I’m not evaluating Kapil Dev and also you; simply speaking concerning the sort of impression” Pandya says “He’s the best. Thanks sir!”
Moments in the past, prodded by Srikkanth, Pandya would use a Tamil slang: “Kalakara machaan! (You rock mate!). Instantly, Srikkanth replied, “Nee daan daa Kalakara (its you who’re rocking!) I’am an awesome fan of you!”
A number of months again, on a SG podcast, Pandya had talked concerning the Kapil comparability, saying he hasn’t even achieved even 5% of what Kapil did.
“I’ve very respectfully denied that (comparisons with Kapil Dev), as a result of I don’t suppose I’m near him. What he did and the period by which he did it, I’ve at all times talked about, that if I obtain even 5 % of what I’ve executed… I’ve nonetheless not achieved that 5 %. So for me, it’s folks and pundits’ jobs to match,” Hardik mentioned on the SG Podcast.
Every week earlier than the T20 world cup, Kapil had spoke about Pandya’s impression and the comparability to him. ”Even in our days, we had loads of all-rounders within the India staff. In our days too, we had idols, and we used to comply with them. It’s good that new benchmarks are being set by younger cricketers. It’s an excellent signal for a staff and I imagine that everybody ought to hold working laborious to set a lot increased benchmarks.”