London : West Indian fast bowling great Michael Holding feels Hardik Pandya is not yet the all-rounder India wants him to be, because he is ineffective as a bowler and also not scoring enough runs with the bat. “The [Indian] attack has not been the right balance. Apparently they are playing Pandya as an all-rounder to help out with the bowling. When he bowls he isn’t as effective as he should be,” Holding was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“If he was a good batsman, if he was getting runs – 60s, 70s, not even regular hundreds – at the number at which he bats and then he bowls and gets two or three wickets, happy, hallelujah.
“Happy with that. But he is not getting the amount of runs that can then allow him to get a wicket or two in the Test match.”
Before the Lord’s Test, Pandya had gone wicketless for four Tests, starting from the second match in South Africa in January, and Holding said he did not have many skills. “I don’t think he does a lot with the ball. That is number one.
“He is not consistent. He does not have the control that puts batsmen under pressure. He will bowl a couple of good deliveries, yes, but you need to have the control to put batsmen under pressure consistently. He doesn’t have that.”