India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been going through a lean phase, ever since his back operation. The cricketer hasn’t been able to get to the same level that he once was and has been dealing with constant fitness issues. The all-rounder also had a horrible outing in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League, where he didn’t bowl at all and was constantly struggling to score runs.
His lean patch has stretched for far too long now and there are many who feels that Hardik’s career is over now. But this isn’t the first time when Hardik is going through a tough phase in his international career. When the stylish cricketer was banned by the BCCI for making s*xist comments on Koffee with Karan, many people had ruled him out but Hardik proved them wrong by making a solid comeback for his team.
While many felt that Hardik’s career was over back then, there were only a few people who lent their shoulders to Hardik Pandya and supported him. As per Hardik, legendary Indian captain MS Dhoni, with whom he shares a strong bond of friendship, supported him like an elder brother during his difficult time.
Well, during an interview with Cricket Monthly last year, Hardik Pandya had opened up about the special bond that he shares with former Indian skipper MS Dhoni and how he has stood by him in his difficult times and helped him like an elder brother.
Highlighting the humbleness of the former skipper, Hardik Pandya shared a heartfelt incident from their New Zealand tour where Dhoni offered his bed to Hardik and slept on the floor himself. Yes, you read that right.
For the unversed, Hardik Pandya was the last moment addition to the national squad of team India for the away series against New Zealand in 2019. Hardik was joining team India after serving his short ban and he was told that there were no rooms available in the hotel.
However, when MS Dhoni, who was the senior-most player of the team, came to know about this, he offered his bed to Hardik. Dhoni conveyed the message that he would sleep on the floor and Hardik can sleep on the bed. Hardik revealed:
“MS was someone who understood me from the start: how I function, what kind of a person I am, what are the things I don’t like, everything”
“When I was picked for the New Zealand series [in January 2019, after the suspension was revoked], initially there were no hotel rooms [for Pandya in New Zealand], But then I get a call, saying, “You just come. MS has told us, ‘I don’t sleep on the bed [in any case]. He will sleep on my bed and I will sleep on the floor.’” He [Dhoni] was the first person who has been always there,” he added.
