The former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has opined that Hardik Pandya is very slim and is not fully fit to handle the big workload of an all-rounder. Meanwhile, the star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is going through a rough patch. Since suffering a back injury he hasn’t been in his best shape.
For a decent period, he was playing for India as a complete batsman. Meanwhile, since he has started bowling he has failed to leave a big impact, both with bat and ball. Speaking on his YouTube channel Salman Butt opined that the problem with Hardik is he is so slim.
Also, Butt believes that if Hardik’s workload is not managed properly the Indian all-rounder will continue becoming unfit.
“India had high hopes from Hardik Pandya, but he has been on a long layoff period. He looks very skillful 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,” Salman Butt said.
Salman Butt further added that Hardik Pandya needs to add some muscle in his body which he is lacking currently. Although he agreed that 27-year-old has an exceptional skill set to become better.
“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,” he added.
My India wins ❤️🇮🇳
Well done to all
So proud ❤️@BCCI pic.twitter.com/wNlG1JxXTu— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) August 16, 2021
“I don’t know if there is any issue with Hardik Pandya’s physique”: Salman Butt
Salman Butt drew a comparison of Pandya with legendary all-rounders Kapil Dev and Imran Khan and highlighted the importance of a good physique and pinpointed the legendary all-rounders were double the size of Hardik Pandya. Salman Butt said:
“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.”
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya is one of the most important members of India in the limited-overs format. India will be hoping that Pandya is in his prime ahead of the marquee T20 World Cup 2021 event. Notably, India will face arch-rivals Pakistan in their first match of the T20 World Cup on 24 October.
