My earlier statement on Hardik Pandya was taken the wrong way: Razzaq

During the 2019 World Cup, Abdul Razzaq became the talk of the town after saying Hardik Pandya’s technical deficiencies were telling, and given a chance, he would coach him to become one of the best players of the generation. In the following year, he further stated that Pandya is not close to Kapil Dev as an all-rounder.

However, three years later, the former Pakistani all-rounder made a U-turn on his statement, saying that he didn’t mean what he said and Pandya is one of the best players of the generation while applauding his physical and mental toughness.

“My earlier statement on Hardik Pandya was taken the wrong way. I didn't mean it. As a cricketer, I just said there is scope for improvement in him (Pandya). I didn't comment on a player who is from India, England, or Australia. I just said things as a cricketer. If Kapil Dev says that he wants to give advice to Abdul Razzaq, I will take this statement positively,” Razzaq told TimesofIndia.com.

“The best part about Hardik is that he is very strong both mentally and physically. He is fit. This drives him forward. He hits the ball cleanly. He takes wickets at crucial junctures. You send him in to bowl, he will take wickets. You send him out to bat and he will score runs for you. He is a match-winner.”

Razzaq, however, stated that Pandya could work on a few things like his foot movement, bat movement, and how to judge a delivery before it is bowled. The former Pakistani pacer, who became one of the premier multi-dimensional players of his generation, further added that no player is perfect.

“He can work on a couple of things which according to him are areas of improvement - in terms of foot movement, bat movement, and how to judge a delivery before it is bowled. That was what I meant earlier. That was just a statement as a former all-rounder. People took it the wrong way and criticised me as well.

“Hardik is a complete allrounder. But no one is perfect. Everyone needs improvement in certain areas. When I was playing, I also lacked certain things. Wasim Akram was the same, Imran Khan was the same, Kapil Dev was the same. But still, we consider them all to be greats of the game,” he added.