Kapil Dev vehemently refutes Ravi Shastri’s claim that Hardik Pandya’s body “cannot cope” with Test cricket

With the start of the ODI series, India saw the return of its famous white-ball players, including ODI vice captain Hardik Pandya. Now that World Cup is just three months away, Team India fans will see more of Hardik as India is slated to play the next Test series in December only.

Before the hugely anticipated ODI World Cup assignment in October, India will play another high-octane tournament in the form of the Asia Cup, where it will take on arch-rival Pakistan.

Hardik Pandya is one of the most important players in India’s white-ball cricket set-up, but he is no longer considered a good prospect for the Indian Test team. In fact, the flamboyant all-rounder has also kept himself away from the longest and most grueling form of cricket.

Hardik made a good impact as a Test player early in his career, but a series of injuries marred his progress, and since 2018, the all-rounder has confined himself to ODIs and T20Is. In fact, Hardik himself asserted that he was not available for Tests. With a player of his caliber, Hardik could give a big edge to the India Cricket Team in Test cricket, but there are certain issues related to his fitness.

Shedding more light on the challenges that Hardik Pandya faced in Test cricket, former India head coach Ravi Shastri, claimed last month that the all-rounder’s body “cannot cope” with Test cricket. “Let’s be clear. His body (Hardik) cannot cope with Test cricket. After the World Cup, I feel he should take over the captaincy in white-ball cricket. Rohit should lead India in the World Cup, no question there,” Shastri had said in an interaction with The Week last month.Shastri made this statement after Hardik showed his intent to focus more on batting than bowling. In fact, the all-rounder didn’t bowl regularly in the IPL this year. Now, India’s 1983 World Cup winning captain and one of the legends of the game have vehemently rejected Ravi Shastri’s claims. Dev asserted that Hardik can once again make it to the Test team by drawing parallels to another legendary player, Australia’s former all-rounder Dennis Lillee.”I respect his [Shastri’s] statement, but why? Nobody has had more breakdowns than Dennis Lillee. So I don’t believe that. The human body can come back from any corner, come back into top condition. If you say Hardik Pandya – who is such a great athlete, looks so good – has to work hard on his body, he has to work hard. His body can’t take it?” Kapil said this during an interview with The Week.

“I can understand if that big West Indian off-spinner’s [Rahkeem Cornwall] body can’t take it. But, over a period of time, his body can also do it if he starts working towards it,” Dev further added.