Pandya, after his 93 in the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town, failed to get a single half-century across formats in the remaining matches.
Comparing any talented all-rounder to Kapil is a norm in Indian cricket and the World Cup winning captain wants Pandya to play without pressure.
He (Pandya) has shown the glimpse. He has the talent and the ability. Comparing with anyone put more pressure on him. I would like to see him go and express himself, enjoy himself, Kapil told PTI in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Laureus World Sports Award here.
I would like to see him in the team for one reason, definitely either as a bowler or as batsman. He has to work little harder on his batting because he is a batsman all-rounder. If he can perform a little more with the bat, the bowling will come easy to him and thats what happens to all-rounders," said India's greatest ever all-rounder.
Also Read
Kapil said that Pandya is still very young and everyone is expecting too much from him.
Talking about next years World Cup, Kapil said that India will require both current skipper Virat Kohlis aggression and his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhonis calmness to lift the trophy once again.
If you can have the combination there is nothing wrong because you need to have somebody on the field who is calm and quiet and also understand the game and somebody who is very aggressive, Kapil said about the deadly combination.
Kapil said India played terrific cricket to bounce back in the limited overs series after a disappointing outing in the first two Tests in South Africa.
They (India) could have done better in the Test series but they ended really well. They won hands down in the shorter formats in South Africa, which we never did in the past. It was outstanding display. Had they played the first two Tests, a little better it could have been a different story altogether, said Kapil.
Its amazing how despite some top cricketers like Sachin, Rahul, Sehwag, Laxman retiring in the last 5-6 years, this Indian team has bounced back so quickly and thats a good sign for Indian cricket, Kapil added.
Kapil believes the current side under Kohli has the ability to do well in England and Australia.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content