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Hardik Pandya's skill sets are equivalent to premier England all-rounder and captain Ben Stokes but the mercurial Indian needs to show more consistency, reckoned former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris.
Recently, Suryakumar Yadav was preferred over Pandya as India's captain in T20Is for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, as chief selector Ajit Agarkar “wanted someone who was likely to be available more often.”
“This champion all-rounder (Pandya) has got as many skills as anyone. He's probably in a similar ability-zone as someone like Ben Stokes. He's got much more talent than that (his recent performances),” Styris told PTI Videos in an interview.
Styris did not have any doubt over Pandya's talent but the Kiwi wanted him to infuse more consistency into his performances.
“He is a phenomenally skilled cricketer. But he hasn't quite shown it yet as consistently enough for my liking. So, just let him get out there and just say, you've got to lead us now by your performance,” he said.
“I think the skills that Indian fans need to see from him now is being available all the time on the field and then delivering those performances with both bat and ball.”
For that Styris wanted Pandya to remain in the peak fitness zone more often than not.
“I want to see him get his body right and be that dominant all-rounder that we know. Bowling is really hard work and he is someone who's got all the skills and talent."
“I want to see him be that genuine all-rounder and as someone whom you can rely on with both bat and ball, not just the odd over here with the ball and come in with a cameo,” said Styris.
Styris said left all-rounder Axar Patel would play a crucial role in India's T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka.
“I'm a huge fan of Axar Patel. I picked him in my World Cup squad (of India) during the IPL. He's one of those players who always gets in the fight, always gets in the contest."
“His bad games are pretty good and you can rely on him. That's why we often see him floating up and down the order."
“Throughout the IPL, we wanted Axar to move up the batting order for Delhi (Capitals) because their top order wasn't going that well. It was pleasing that he did get that opportunity with India,” he added.
Styris also wanted to see a larger role for Rinku Singh, who failed to make it to India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup.
“I would still like to see Rinku come in first. The way he's performed for India, he hasn't done anything wrong. Just continue to let him do that role. But then if there's another opportunity, Axar certainly would be a floater in my team,” he said.
The former all-rounder lauded Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja for timing their retirement from T20Is to perfection.
“I think it was the perfect time for those three to step away. It's a real opportunity for India to give some experience to the next generation of players.”
Styris said the young Indian cricketers are immensely talented as they have shown in the IPL.
“They won't have those senior guys around to lean on. But the one thing that we can take away from the IPL is the next wave of Indian batsmen are talented."
“So, I love the opportunity this (retirement of veterans) is presenting to some of the younger players,” he concluded.