Hardik Pandya Slams Michael Holding's "Nowhere Near Kapil Dev" Jibe After Routing England

Agencies
August 20, 2018

Aug 20: Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya routed England with his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket and then urged pundits such as Michael Holding to assess him on his own merits after the West Indies great said he was "nowhere near" becoming the "next Kapil Dev". Pace-bowling all-rounder Pandya, playing in just his 10th Test, made the most of the swing-friendly conditions on offer to take five for 28 as England collapsed to 161 all out at Trent Bridge on Sunday. India then pressed home their advantage to be 124 for two at stumps in their second innings, a commanding lead of 292 runs on just the second day of the third Test.

"I have never wanted to be Kapil Dev," Pandya told reporters.

"Let me be Hardik Pandya, I am good at being Hardik Pandya, I played 41 ODIS and 10 Tests being Hardik Pandya, not Kapil Dev."

Prior to this match, the 24-year-old Pandya was averaging 32 with the bat and 39 with the ball in Test cricket.

That led West Indies fast-bowling great Holding to suggest India needed to "find someone who can contribute a lot more to this team right now".

Holding made his remarks during an interview with the ESPNcricinfo website on Thursday -- two days before the third Test started -- in which he insisted Pandya was a long way from becoming a world-class all-rounder in the mould of India great Kapil.

The now 59-year-old Kapil scored 5,248 runs at 31.05, including eight hundreds, during a 131-Test career that yielded 434 wickets at 29.64 as well for the fast bowler.

Kapil was also India's inspirational captain when they beat two-time defending champions West Indies, who had Holding in their XI, in the 1983 World Cup final at Lord's -- one of cricket's all-time stunning upset victories.

Before the second Test at Lord's last week, which India lost by the huge margin of an innings and 159 runs to fall 2-0 behind in this five-match series, Pandya had gone four Tests without a wicket.

"I don't think he does a lot with the ball," said Holding. "He is not consistent."

Holding, now a respected television commentator who is covering the England-India series for Sky Sports, insisted "I heard a mention, when I was working in South Africa: 'he is the next Kapil Dev'. I ain't going to tell anybody he's not going to be the next Kapil Dev, but he is nowhere near there yet.

"And they (India) need to find someone who can contribute a lot more to this team right now."

'Let me be Hardik Pandya'

But having made his mark at Trent Bridge, significantly as a fourth seamer in a rebalanced attack following the return of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah from injury, Pandya said he had no interest in being compared to great players of the past.

"They (the players of Holding's generation) have created their era, let me be Hardik Pandya, let's stop comparing me with anyone," he said.

"My team is happy with me. Nothing else matters."

England were bowled out in a session on Sunday despite an opening stand of 54.

Having gone nearly 80 years without losing all 10 wickets in a Test session from 1938 to October 2016, Sunday's slump was the third time it had happened to them in 22 months.

They might have been made to follow-on before Jos Buttler top-scored with 39 to ensure India would have to bat again.

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News Network
April 26,2024

A 91-year-old woman passed away minutes after casting her vote in Karnataka's Hunsur on Friday, April 26. Hunsur comes under Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency. Despite her advanced age, Puttamma exercised her democratic right.

Voting held on Friday in 14 constituencies in Karnataka. Polling began at 7 am and will ended at 6 pm.

Chende artiste Manohar dies 

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Chende artiste Manohar (58) died of cardiac arrest after exercising his franchise in Kodagu district.

He had cast his vote at B Shettigeri polling station in Ponnampet taluk. Later, Chende artiste Manohar (58) reportedly collapsed after coming out of the polling booth. Though he was rushed to hospital, doctors declared him brought dead.

Ponnampet Tahsildar Mohankumar said “Manohar had come out of the polling booth and collapsed 200 metres away from the booth.

For the uninitiated, Chende (also known as Chenda) is a cylindrical percussion instrument widely used in cultural events in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India.

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News Network
April 28,2024

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Bengaluru: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday said he would like to wait for the facts to come out of the investigation into an alleged sex scandal involving his nephew and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, but asserted that there is no question of forgiving anyone who has committed a crime as per law.

The former chief minister said he has nothing to do with Prajwal Revanna reportedly leaving the country, and it is the responsibility of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to get him back if required.

The 33-year-old Prajwal Revanna is the son of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda's elder son H D Revanna, who is an MLA and former minister.

Some explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna had started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days.

Prajwal Revanna is the BJP-JD(S) alliance's candidate from Hassan, which went to polls on Friday.

Kumaraswamy said, "I have noticed that the chief minister has ordered an SIT probe. Whether it is me or Deve Gowda (his father), we have always conducted ourselves respectfully towards women and have responded positively when anyone came with any sufferings. We have tried to address them."

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "The Hassan related issue that started during elections, let the facts come out through a probe. Whoever it is, who has committed the mistake as per the law of the land...there is no question of forgiving anyone who has committed the mistake. So let the facts come out from the probe, after that I will react."

To a question on Prajwal Revanna going to a foreign country, Kumaraswamy said, "It is not related to me. SIT probe has been ordered, officials have been put to work. If he has gone to a foreign country, getting him back is their responsibility. What should I say, if I'm asked. They (SIT) will get him, don't worry."

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the decision to constitute a SIT to probe the alleged sex scandal involving the MP.

Meanwhile, the police have information that Prajwal has left the country, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s office.

"Prajwal Revanna’s explicit video clips are being circulated in Hassan and it appears prime facie that women were sexually assaulted,' the statement said, adding that the government decided to form an SIT based on a petition by the chief of the Karnataka State Commission for Women.

The Commission's chairperson Dr Nagalakshmi Chaudhary on Thursday wrote to Siddaramaiah and state police chief Alok Mohan, seeking a probe into the videos that are in circulation in Hassan.

Prajwal has through his election agent lodged a complaint with the authorities that the videos are "doctored" and being circulated to tarnish his image ahead of elections.

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News Network
April 20,2024

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New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is being pushed towards a “slow death” inside Tihar jail by denying him insulin and consultations with his doctor.

Kejriwal, who has Type-2 diabetes, has been asking for insulin and a video conferencing with his family doctor but his requests are being denied by the jail administration, party spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a press conference.

"I want to say with full responsibility that a conspiracy is underway for the slow death of Kejriwal," Bharadwaj claimed citing blood sugar readings of the Chief Minister in jail.

He also slammed the Tihar administration, BJP, Centre and Delhi LG for allegedly denying insulin to Kejriwal and said the Delhi Chief Minister had been suffering from diabetes for the last 20-22 years.

On Friday, the chief minister council Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi said Kejriwal has not been administered insulin to control his sugar levels since his arrest, terming it “shocking” and “alarming”.

The ED had on Thursday claimed before the court that Kejriwal was eating food high in sugar like mangoes and sweets every day, despite having Type-2 diabetes, to create grounds for medical bail.

Kejriwal, however, refuted the ED’s claims by asserting before a court that the food he consumed was in conformity with the diet chart prepared by his doctor.

“Out of 48 meals sent from home, only three times mangoes were there…,” Singhvi told the court.

Bharadwaj said Kejriwal was allowed by the court to use a machine in the jail to monitor his daily blood sugar levels.

"Overall, it was a conspiracy to finish Kejriwal so his multiple organ damage and when he comes out of jail after 2-4 months he goes for treatment of kidney, heart and other organs," said Bharadwaj, who holds the portfolio of health in Delhi government.

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