Over the years, Hardik Pandya has become a household name in Indian cricket. Earlier considered the 'bad boy' of Indian cricket, Pandya has come a long way since his debut for the Men in Blue, even captaining the side during a T20I series against Ireland in 2022. Having starred with both the bat and the ball for India, Pandya has gone from 'bad boy' to 'golden boy' in a matter of years, regularly performing in crunch situations for India.
Hardik Pandya Early life
Pandya was in Surat, Gujarat, to a small car finance businessman. Born into a family of five brothers, the Pandyas moved to Vadodara when Hardik was five to provide for better cricket training facilities. He joined Kiran More's cricket academy in Vadodara and to battle the lack of finances, the Pandya family lived in a rented apartment in Gorwa and the brothers used a second-hand car to travel to the cricket ground. He studied till the ninth grade before dropping out to focus on cricket.
In an interview with the Indian Express, Hardik revealed that he was dropped from his state age-group teams due to 'attitude problems. He added that he was 'an expressive child' who did not 'like to hide his emotions.' According to his father, Hardik was a leg spinner until the age of 18 and turned to fast bowling at the insistence of the Baroda coach Sanath Kumar.
Hardik Pandya Domestic career
Pandya has been playing for the Baroda cricket team since 2013. He was vital in helping Baroda win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2013–14 season. In January 2016, he slammed eight sixes during his innings, scoring 86 runs not out, to guide the Baroda cricket team to a six-wicket win over Vidarbha for their second Syed Mushtaq Ali title.
Hardik Pandya International Debut and T20I regular
Having cemented his status as a T20 specialist with both Baroda and the Mumbai Indians (MI), Pandya made his T20I debut for India on 27 January 2016 at the age of 22, picking up two wickets against Australia. He soon established himself as a regular in India's T20I squad and also played in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. In five matches, he bagged five wickets, including two crucial wickets in the last three balls of a final over as India beat Bangladesh by one run.
Hardik Pandya ODI and Test careers
Pandya made his ODI debut for India against New Zealand on October 16, 2016, at Dharamshala. He was the fourth Indian to be named player of the match on their ODI debut after Sandeep Patil, Mohit Sharma and KL Rahul. In his first ODI innings as a batter, he scored 36 runs from 32 balls.
In the group stages of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final at the Oval, Pandya struck a 43-ball 76 in a losing cause, after coming in with India at 54/5 following a top-order collapse. His fine performances meant that he was selected in the ODI XI of the year 2017 by Cricinfo.
In Tests, Pandya made his debut in July 2017 against Sri Lanka. In the 3rd and the final Test against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, Pandya scored his maiden Test century and set the record for becoming the first Indian batter to score a Test century just before lunch. He also set the record for scoring the most runs in a single over of a Test innings for India, scoring 26 runs. This was his first century in international cricket.
Hardik Pandya IPL career
The rising star was a regular for MI in the IPL from 2015 to 2021. In a must-win situation to remain in the playoff race against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Pandya scored 61 runs off 31 balls to win the match for his side, earning him his second man of the match award in 2016.
Ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, Pandya was released by MI. He was then drafted by the new Ahmedabad franchise, Gujarat Titans (GT), and named captain of the team. Pandya led Gujarat to their maiden IPL title in 2022, becoming the first captain after Shane Warne to lead a team to the title in their first year.
