Former Indian cricketer Robin Singh during an event in Dubai on Wednesday (Photo by Neeraj Murali)
Dubai - Back in the 90s, Robin Singh was India's answer to the great Kapil Dev when it came to all-rounders
Published: Wed 13 Sep 2017, 7:51 PM
Last updated: Wed 13 Sep 2017, 10:28 PM
Former Indian all-rounder Robin Singh sees shades of himself in Hardik Pandya and believes that the 23-year-old would reach unprecedented heights if he can keep his feet firmly on the ground.
Back in the 90s, Robin Singh was India's answer to the great Kapil Dev when it came to all-rounders and the left-hander more than punched above his weight in a side filled with stars.
Robin, who will turn 54 on Thursday, was excited about Pandya.
"He's an exceptional player. He's somebody who can really go to great heights as long as he's consistent and keeps himself fit," Robin, who coaches Pandya at IPL champions Mumbai Indians, told the Khaleej Times in an interview, on Wednesday.
"He can bowl quick and it is very rare that you see Indian fast bowling all-rounders bowling at 140kmph. Of course, he's somebody who is quite an explosive batsman and I would encourage him to be like that because that's the way you can win matches. As he plays more and more, he will get more experience. He will find his own niche in different situations, he will know how to adapt," he added.
And Robin felt that Pandya can be the benchmark for young all-rounders coming in.
"There is no end to having good all-rounders and I hope there are many more like him, on the verge of coming through and I hope he can be one of the examples for young all-rounders in his era. So, he can set the benchmark. I'm pretty sure, knowing the sort of person he is and he wants to excel. That's important. He's a very positive guy and a very, very exciting player," said Robin, who played one Test and 136 ODIs for India.
Robin scored nine half-centuries and a hundred, with the three-figure mark coming against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 1997. Robin also took 69 wickets with his medium pace, his best being 5-22 against Sri Lanka in Guwahati in 1997.
Meanwhile Pandya has been impressive ever since making his debut in the shorter formats last year and his Test debut in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka.
Pandya's top score in ODIs is 76 which he made against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final at The Oval. He also scored a swashbuckling century in only his third Test at Pallekele last month. Pandya has 178 runs and four wickets from three Tests, 308 runs and 23 wickets from 21 ODIs and 100 runs and 15 wickets from 19 T20Is.
Pandya is still not the finished article just yet and Robin believes he's a work in progress.
Indian fielding impresses Robin
At a time when countries like Australia and South Africa were top fielding sides and India probably had way too many 'passengers,' Robin was a pioneer of sorts and set the benchmark with his brilliant fielding, in his heyday. And Robin is pleased with the emphasis on fielding and the standards that have been set now. He also picked out Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina as two of the best fielders in the team.
"There are a lot of good fielders but I think there are a few fielders who probably excel. I think Suresh Raina is one of them but he's not in the side at the moment," he said.
"Of course, (Ravindra) Jadeja is probably the best fielder in India today. He's quick, he's got a good throw. Maybe one of the areas they (India) can really improve on is probably hitting the stumps a little more and make a wicket happen. I don't see that happening too much but as a fielding team, they have definitely improved big time," he said.
South Africa's Jonty Rhodes, undoubtedly the greatest fielder of all-time, had once said that he expects every ball to come to him and wanted every ball to come to him. For, Robin, it was more or less the same and being aware of the situation.
"You need to be ready for the ball. Sometimes, it comes to you, sometimes it comes very often, sometimes it may not come, but the idea is to be switched on all the time. You don't have to switch on for the full six hours, it is only for a fraction of a second, two seconds or three seconds. It is about knowing when to concentrate. So, these things are important and these are the small things that help you like awareness of what the bowler is bowling and what the batsman is capable of doing. If you can put that together, then fielding is easy," he explained.
james@khaleejtimes.com
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