Mumbai: Hardik Pandya is one of the best all-rounders in the world, but unfortunately injuries have let him down at times. Pandya, who comes across as a strongly built character, may not be exactly how things look. Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt reckons the Indian all-rounder will keep picking up injuries because his body is too weak to shoulder the workload.
“India had high hopes from Hardik Pandya, but he has been on a long layoff period. He looks very skilful when he bats. And when he was bowling before injury, he looked very effective with decent pace. But again, Hardik Pandya’s problem is that he is so slim, if there is extra load on his body, he will keep getting unfit,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Butt suggested the MI cricketer put on some muscle so that his body can take in the load. With skill, Butt feels Hardik can keep improving that.
He added: “He needs some muscle on his body. Skill-wise, he has a lot of capacity to become better and better. The way he bats and bowls… he has a very good bowling action. But again, his body cannot take the excess workload. That is what needs to be managed.”
Butt also cited example of Kapil Dev and Imran Khan from the past.
“If you compare Hardik Pandya with Kapil Dev or Imran Khan, they were far fitter than him. You can watch their YouTube videos. They were double in size, and had more muscle. I don’t know if there is any issue with Hardik Pandya’s physique. The physios and trainers must be definitely talking to him about it,” he concluded.
The MI cricketer was part of Shikhar Dhawan’s team that toured Sri Lanka recently for a white-ball series. He will now be seen playing the IPL for Mumbai Indians in UAE.