'I saw Hardik's photograph on the billboard today and...': Kapil Dev rates Pandya's fitness after India's defeat to WI

Hardik Pandya on Sunday became the first Indian captain in 17 years to lose a bilateral series against West Indies (a minimum of 3-match series). India, the No. 1 ranked T20I team in the world could not beat a 7th-ranked side and a unit that failed to even qualify for last year's T20 World Cup. On the contrary, the series win was a shot in the arm for the West Indies – the two-time world champions, who hit another low in June when they couldn't make it to the 50-overs World Cup – as a victory against the Men in Blue comes at the right time as they try and lift themselves from the abyss.

As India were humbled at Lauderhill, Florida, creating a slew of unwanted records, the one man who came in the firing line more than anybody else was Hardik. Despite leading Gujarat Titans to a maiden IPL title in their debut season and securing a runner-up finish earlier this year, fingers have been pointed towards Hardik's captaincy. Decisions such as not giving Yuzvendra Chahal all four overs in the 2nd T20I and promoting himself up in the batting order without producing results have not gone down well with fans and experts alike. Besides, Hardik's bat has been quiet for awfully long and with two huge tournaments coming up, fans believe the star all-rounder's place in the Indian squad should no longer be a guarantee.

That being said, Pandya brings something to the table not many of his Indian contemporaries do: all-round skills. With India falling short in identifying quality all-rounders, Hardik and Ravindra Jadeja become virtually undroppable. Recently, former England captain Nasser Hussain pointed out that India require fast-bowling all-rounders such as Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green. Sadly, for Team India, Hardik is all they've got. After the legendary Kapil Dev and to a certain extent Irfan Pathan, Hardik is the perfect embodiment of a fast-bowling all-rounder. Add to it the added benefit of captaincy that he offers, and Hardik becomes all the more indispensable.

Amidst Hardik's resurgence, talks regarding his potential reinstatement in the Indian Test team have gathered momentum. However, Hardik remains cautious, expressing doubts about his body's current readiness to endure the demands of all three formats simultaneously—an apprehension shared by Kapil as well. The former Indian captain holds a guarded outlook on Hardik's Test re-entry. Despite this, Kapil, in a conversation with The Times of India, expresses his desire to witness Pandya featuring prominently in the matches to come.

"Doesn't look like he will. I saw his photograph on the billboard today. I don't know whether they did any touch-up or not, but in that, he looked like having one of the finest bodies we have in the country. Yes, he should play more cricket because he has so much ability. If he is fit, he should play Test cricket also," Kapil told TOI.

'It's not like we don't have all-rounder at all,' says Kapil

However, Kapil disagrees with Hussain's assessment that fast-bowling all-rounders are the sole path for India's future. He acknowledges that unearthing impactful all-rounders might not have been India's forte. Yet, amidst this, there exist numerous positives that the BCCI and team management can rightfully take pride in.

"I don't think it is right to compare players. Last 20-30 years, we have produced enough fast bowlers whom we can depend on. And that is more important. And it is not just fast-bowling all-rounders you require, you need spin-bowling allrounders' as well. And you have some decent ones in the Indian team. Jadeja is fantastic, Ashwin is doing a great job. So it isn't that we don't have any allrounders at all," added Kapil.