Cricket News

‘The two cannot be compared’ – Rashid Latif gives insights on why Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes cannot be compared

Hardik Pandya and Ben Stokes have completely owned the international cricket stage ever since they made their debut. One could say that Ben Stokes has been the more impactful player in test cricket, and Hardik Pandya has lit up the stage in the limited overs formats. The career graph of the two has been on the rise and there have been comparisons made between the two, which were bound to crop up.

But former Pakistan player Rashid Latif believes that there is a world of difference between Ben Stokes and Hardik Pandya and also thinks on different lines and said that at the moment there is no way that Hardik Pandya can be compared to Ben Stokes and that Hardik still has to show whether he has got the goods to sustain himself over a long period of time in international cricket.

Hardik Pandya is at the forefront in the shorter formats, but Ben Stokes has set the stage on fire when it comes to Test Cricket with performances against Australia at Headingley in the 2019 Ashes Series.

“There’s no doubt that he (Hardik) is a very good player but. and I am using the term “but” because these kinds of knocks happen in bilateral series often. The Asia Cup concluded recently, and you have to count those performances too, with both bat and ball. I’m not talking about today’s match (India vs Australia first T20I in Mohali), but just responding to your question (on Hardik-Stokes’ comparison),” said Rashid during a discussion on his Youtube channel. 

“Ben Stokes is a proven player, winning World Cups, winning Test matches. So, on the field, I don’t think you can even compare them. Because trophy is a trophy. Ben Stokes is ahead of Hardik in that.” 

“Yes, you could say that some of Hardik’s innings have been better than Ben Stokes but having better innings and being better than Stokes are two completely different things,” Rashid Latif added.