Watch: Salman Butt has his say on India's star all-rounder's physique — 'problem is that he is so slim'

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has commented on Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya's fitness, who is a vital cog in the Indian cricket team, especially in the middle order, but currently going through a lean patch in his career.

Butt said that India'sstar all-rounder's problem is that he is "so slim" and if there is extra load on his body, he will "keep getting unfit".

"India had high hopes from Hardik Pandya, but he has been on a long layoff period. He looks very skilful when he bats. And when he was bowling before injury, he looked very effective with decent pace,"Butt said on his YouTube channel.

"But again, Hardik Pandya’s problem is that he is so slim, if there is extra load on his body, he will keep getting unfit," he added.

Previously, Pandya was part of Shikhar Dhawan's team that toured Sri Lanka recently for a white-ball series and he is tipped to be part of India's squad during ICC T20 World Cup. But before that, he willbe seen in the 14th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) for Mumbai Indians in UAE.

"He needs some muscle on his body. Skill-wise, he has a lot of capacity to become better and better. The way he bats and bowls… he has a very good bowling action. But again, his body cannot take the excess workload. That is what needs to be managed," Butt added.

The ex-Pakistani cricketer also gave an example of some legendary all-rounders like Kapil Dev and Imran Khan and said that they were "fitter than him".

"If you compare Hardik Pandya with Kapil Dev or Imran Khan, they were far fitter than him. You can watch their YouTube videos. They were double in size, and had more muscle. I don’t know if there is any issue with Hardik Pandya’s physique. The physios and trainers must be definitely talking to him about it," he further said.

Watch the video here: