India’s Ben Stokes? Why not, says Virat Kohli about Hardik Pandya

It did not come as a surprise to many when India wrapped up a massive 305-run win against Sri Lanka under four days in the first Test in Galle. Virat Kohli won the toss, batted first, saw his team put up a formidable first innings total (their fifth 600-plus score in Tests since December 2016), followed that up with a clinical bowling performance, chose not to enforce follow-on, thereby enabling himself and Abhinav Mukund get some valuable runs beside their names, and finished it all off in a little over two sessions.

From start to finish, Kohli and Co hardly put a foot wrong.

Two years back, at the very same venue, India were handed a chastening defeat. For much of the first three days in that Test, India had dominated proceedings. But on day four they failed to chase down 176 runs. Fast forward two years, and it’s a completely different story.

A promising debut

In this Test in 2017, India had a debutant. He did not win the team the match, of course. It was a collective effort and Hardik Pandya’s performance, in history books, will just be a footnote. But the importance of Pandya’s debut was not lost on his captain.

Speaking after the match, Kohli stressed the importance on having a bowler like him on a pitch that was far less helpful to bowlers than the track in 2015.

“[In the] first innings, he didn’t get an opportunity to bowl much but I think in the second innings, he bowled really nicely on a wicket that wasn’t offering much,” said Kohli after the match. “He kept at it in the right areas. He used the bouncer well. He bowls around 135 and when he bends his back he can go higher.”

While Pandya’s obvious strength is batting, his bowling has come in handy for India on more than one occasion in the recent past. In his debut ODI series against New Zealand, then-captain MS Dhoni handed him the new ball and he returned a man-of-the-match performance. More recently, in the final of the Champions Trophy, when all the seasoned bowlers were getting carted around, Pandya was economical. Kohli has backed his all-rounder every chance he has got.

Complete package

“He is a great asset and I have mentioned this before as well, especially his batting, otherwise we would have been 540-550 in the first innings,” said Kohli. “He got 50 quickly and that saves you time as well. That gives you another 15 overs to bowl at the opposition. His fielding is also tremendous.”

“I have a lot of faith in him as far as any format is concerned. He has got the technique for Test cricket and he is a really good batsman. You might not look at it precisely but we understand how much he can bring to the table. I surely have a lot of faith in him that he will be able to perform on any surface on which he plays.”   

While it’s obviously early days in Pandya’s Test career, the importance of his role in the team is already quite evident. It’s been a bugbear for Kohli recently and Dhoni for a long time before that – a lack of a seam-bowling all-rounder who will provide the balance. Should he live up to his talent, Kohli’s quest for balance could well be over.

And the comparisons to Ben Stokes are more than just mere murmurs now, with Kohli saying he can be that all-rounder for India.

“When you play away from home, one [all-rounder] gives you a lot of balance, and I think Hardik can be that guy going ahead, specially playing so much cricket away from home,” Kohli said. “If he grows in confidence – you see someone like Ben Stokes, what he does for England, brings in great balance as an all-rounder. I see no reason why Hardik Pandya can’t become that for India.”

Stokes as a batsman is a major part of England’s middle-order and he has shown an ability to score big in crunch situations regularly. With Pandya more likely to be a lower-order batsman, it remains to be seen whether the Indian can be as prolific. But he sure does have the support of his captain.