He is here and he belongs. Hardik Pandya showed the world his power and class as he bludgeoned a 43-ball 76 in the finals of the Champions Trophy.
He was unfortunately run-out by his teammate and showed his frustration all the way back to the pavilion and collectively won all of our hearts for the passion he exhibited.
Pandya may have played a role in the CT and is showing more and more signs of improvement over the past few months or so. He is still only 23 but has a lot of maturity beyond his years. He has come a long way to make it to the squad. Here’s a look at his journey through the years:
Early career and struggles:
Pandya was born in Surat, Gujarat while his dad had a small car finance business. He had to move to Baroda after shutting it down to help his sons focus on the game. Pandya and his brother Krunal enrolled in Kiran More’s academy and were not well off financially. They used to live in a rented apartment and travelled in a second-hand car.
Hardik also had to drop out of school in order to facilitate his dream of playing cricket as a full-time professional. Pandya was an expressive child and would be dropped from games because of his fiery attitude. Soon, Krunal revealed that Hardik was winning games single-handedly.
Pandya never forgets the days of his struggle where his father lost his business and suffered heart attacks. His mother too fell ill and he was not able to take care of her thanks to his cricketing commitments. He still remembers the days of struggle and how it has made him successful today.
Domestic and IPL success:
Pandya’s talent was too good to ignore and he was drafted in to the Baroda team. He played a very big role in helping them win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2013-14 season and was purchased by the Mumbai Indians for the IPL.
At the IPL, Pandya began showing his skill as an all-rounder, scoring 21 off 8 balls against CSK and a quickfire 61 off 31 balls to win the game against the KKR. Pandya was also told by Sachin that he would make it to the Indian team within 18 months and he did so within just 8.
International recognition:
With his ability to hit the ball hard and long as well as his terrific fielding, Pandya was taken to Australia for the T20 series. He picked up 2 wickets on debut with Chris Lynn being his first victim. He also shone with the bat against Sri Lanka.
Pandya’s most famous moment came in the T20 World Cup against Bangladesh. He came back strongly and picked up two wickets to help India win the game by 1 run.
He also showed his bowling prowess on his ODI debut by picking up 3 wickets against New Zealand and became only the fourth Indian to receive a Man of the Match Award on his debut.
Pandya also holds the record for the fastest half-century in any Champions Trophy game with his 50 coming in just 32 balls against Pakistan.
Pandya is well and truly on his way to become a regular for the Indian team once the likes of Yuvraj retires. He needs to work on a few aspects of his bowling and make a case for the Test team too but for the moment, India has a very special talent on their hands.
By Rohit Nair
