India Vs Australia: Hardik Pandya Is Better Than Me, Says Former India Captain Kapil Dev

Hardik Pandya has been making the headlines off late due to his performances and has impressed one and all with praise coming in from all corners for the Baroda all-rounder. A recent notable addition to that list of admirers is former India captain Kapil Dev. Speaking about Pandya in a press conference, Kapil said that Pandya has the ability to become a far better cricketer than what he is now with a lot of hard work but also sent out a warning of not putting added pressure on the youngster.

"Hardik Pandya is better than me. But he has to do a lot of hard work. It is still too early. We should not create unnecessary burden on him. He has the talent and ability to be a great player," the 58-year-old said.

Earlier, former India captain Rahul Dravid said that Pandya has turned his career around by playing as the situations demanded in the ongoing One-day International (ODI) series against Australia. Dravid further added that he hoped that the current India A players are able to emulate Pandya's batting approach.

"A good example about Hardik from my perspective is, he's willing to play situations and not just the natural game we often speak about. Credit goes completely to him. It's not about playing just the one way you want to play," Dravid was quoted by PTI as telling ESPNcricinfo.com.

Pandya has been instrumental in India taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the ongoing 5-match ODI series against Australia. In the first match, he scored 83 off 66 balls and added 118 runs along with MS Dhoni to take India to a challenging total of 281 for 7 after the hosts found themselves in a spot of bother, having lost half their side with not too many on the board.

In the third ODI, Pandya's blistering 78 off 72 balls took the game away from the Aussies and helped India clinch the series with still two matches to play.

The fourth ODI will be played on Thursday, September 28 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.