Lance Klusener reckons this cricketer would be fantastic for India

Former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener looked mighty pleased with the way emerging all-rounder Hardik Pandya fared up in the Cape Town Test. Team India lost the match but the things could have been worse for them had Hardik not rescued them in the first innings. The innings was heading nowhere when Pandya arrived and hit a brilliant 93.

As per the recent quotes in MyKhel.com, Lance Klusener spoke at length at how Hardik Pandya has the potential to become a world class all-rounder for India. He feels that Pandya can get an inch better if he adds a bit of pace to his bowling. Moreover, the former South African cricketer feels that it is the responsibility of the team management to take care of him and nurture him in the right way.

“I thought his knock in India’s first innings was fantastic. His batting was excellent in the way he reversed pressure and put it back on South Africa. He is going to be fantastic for India. He is still developing and I think if he could add another yard of pace to his bowling, he would become a truly amazing all-rounder,” quoted Lance Klusener.

“All the signs are there that he is developing into a fantastic all-round prospect. Sure, he is bound to fail a few times the way he plays, but it is better to encourage that positive approach than reel him in. So, he is in good company, whether he plays for Mumbai Indians in IPL or in this Indian team, he is surrounded by a lot of good people. It is their responsibility to nurture him,” he added.

‘Should have played a practice match’

Commenting further on the same note, Lance Klusener noted that it would have been better if the Indian team had opted for a practice game instead of skipping it. He remarked that had South Africa been touring India, they would have surely liked to play a practice game. Klusener mentioned that the things could have been worse had Hardik Pandya not come to their rescue in the first innings.

“India can take a lot of learning from that first Test loss. It could have been a lot worse to be honest if Pandya didn’t play that excellent knock and scored those 90-odd runs. I think that is a learning point for India in how they can turn this around. They need to be pro-active and take the pacers’ challenge head on,” Klusener remarked.

On Indian bowling

Drawing comparisons between the bowling lineups of India and South Africa, Lance Klusener reckoned that the Indian bowling lacked a bit of pace. However, he admired the way Indian pacers adapted to the South African tracks and picked up the right lines and lengths so soon. Klusener cited that in the past the Indian pacers had struggled to get their act right and often got carried away by the bounce and carry.

“When you compare them to South Africa’s pace attack, they do lack a bit of pace, bowling in the mid-130s. But what I found remarkable was that they immediately hit the perfect length for South African conditions. It was similar to the lengths Philander was bowling,” quoted the former cricketer.

“In the past, we have seen Indian pacers come here and get carried away with bounce and carry. This time they have obviously spoken about bowling fuller lengths and it was excellent to see them executing their plans very well,” he added further.

Series prediction

The visitors are 0-1 down and it will need some herculean effort from their end to be back in the competition in the 3-match series. Klusener reckoned that a 1-1 scoreline is something that the Indian team would be content with after losing the first Test. He feels that India’s only chance of dominating the opposition is if they put up a big score on the board.

“Maybe they can win and draw. Coming from 1-0 down, 1-1 will be a good result for them. But to do that, they need to work to a plan. South Africa are a good team with good pacers. India’s only chance is if they can get a big score on the board,” concluded Lance Klusener.

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