Hardik Pandya: The Flamboyant Superstar

For Hardik Pandya, it took just a few words from Sachin Tendulkar to transform his career. After watching Pandya smash 61* off just 31 balls during the 2015 Indian T20 League season, the Master Blaster told him, â€œIf you keep doing this, youâ€™ll be playing for India within the next one and a half years.â€ Pandya accepts that that was his light-bulb moment and he told himself, â€œOkay, letâ€™s work hard now.â€ Within 7 months, he was playing a T20I for India in Australia.

He was no less a factor in the Indian T20 League, as one of the key performers for a brilliant Mumbai team. In his seven seasons with the franchise, the title was won 4 times. Among those with more than 1000 runs in the competition, only Andre Russell and Virender Sehwag have a better strike rate than Pandya. He combined that thrilling batting with crucial wickets too. In the 2018 season, he took 18 wickets, justifying his place as a bowler alone.

The move to the new Gujarat team is a great opportunity for Pandya to not only re-establish himself in the Indian side but also to show off his leadership credentials. The school dropout who was constantly punished by coaches during his teenage years for â€œbad attitudeâ€ has come a long way since the days when he was whacking tennis balls out of dusty maidans.

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Hardik Pandyaâ€™s Personal Details

- Name
- :
- Hardik Himanshu Pandya
- Age
- :
- 29 Years
- Birthplace
- :
- Choryasi, Gujarat, India
- Height
- :
- 6â€²0â€³
- Batting Style
- :
- Right-handed batter
- Bowling Style
- :
- Right-arm medium-fast
- Playing Role
- :
- All-rounder
- Current Team
- :
- India Cricket Team, Gujarat team
- Jersey Number
- :
- 33

Hardik Pandyaâ€™s Current Rankings

T20 2
ODI 12
Test 30

Hardik Pandya Stats

- Format
- M
- Inn
- Runs
- HS
- Avg
- SR
- 100
- 200
- 50
- W
- Bowling Average
- Bowling SR
- Test
- 11
- 18
- 532
- 108 vs. SL
- 31.29
- 73.88
- 1
- 0
- 4
- 17
- 31.06
- 55.12
- ODI
- 74
- 55
- 1584
- 92* vs. AUS
- 33
- 112.02
- 0
- 0
- 9
- 72
- 37.65
- 40.22
- T20I
- 87
- 67
- 1271
- 71* vs. AUS
- 29.45
- 145.31
- 0
- 0
- 3
- 69
- 26.43
- 19.46

Hardik Pandya - Key Skills and Strengths

Built like a greyhound, Pandya is deceptively powerful. At his peak, he bowled quicker than 140 km/hr, and his six-hitting grabbed Sachin Tendulkarâ€™s attention long before he played for India. Before injuries stifled his progress with the Indian team, Pandya had proved that he could mix it with the best in any format. His hit-the-deck bowling and cleverly disguised cutters offered the team a very handy extra bowling option, especially in helpful conditions. And his batting, especially a dazzling Test hundred in his debut series in Sri Lanka, was marked by both a wide range of strokes and sound technique. He has Test half centuries in both Cape Town and Nottingham, venues traditionally known to favor the seamers. Add in his superb ground-fielding and sharp catching in the outfield and itâ€™s not hard to see why Virat Kohli once thought he could be Indiaâ€™s answer to Ben Stokes.

Hardik Pandyaâ€™s Awards and Achievements

Even if he has struggled to match his early impact in the colors of the Indian cricket team , the team management and selectors still consider him a key part of the future plans. With more than 2000 runs and 100 wickets in international cricket, Pandyaâ€™s quality isnâ€™t in doubt. He is one of Indiaâ€™s few modern all-rounders who have been effective in all conditions.

Here are some of Pandyaâ€™s biggest achievements in international cricket:

Of those who have batted more than 25 innings, Pandya has the 5th best strike rate in ODIs.
His strike rate in T20Is is the highest for an Indian batter.
He was Indiaâ€™s highest scorer when India lost to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final in 2017.

Hardik Pandyaâ€™s Indian T20 League Journey

Though he switched to bowling seam only when he was in his late teens, Pandya left his mark on the Indian T20 League in his first season with the Mumbai team in 2015, with a thrilling 31-ball 61* to defeat Kolkata, who were the defending champions. He played his part in Mumbaiâ€™s 4 title wins, with his 402 runs and 14 wickets in 2019 being especially noteworthy.

Injuries prevented him from bowling in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, and after a poor season with the bat in 2021, Mumbai opted not to retain him before the mega auction. The new Gujrat team acquired his services for â‚¹15 crores and appointed him as the team captain. This decision brought instant success as Gujarat won the 2022 Indian T20 League title under his leadership.