New Delhi: Star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya turned 31 on October 11. He has been in the spotlight for the last few months due to both personal and professional reasons.
The all-rounder faced heavy criticism from Mumbai Indians (MI) fans during the Indian Premier League (IPL). He left the Gujarat Titans (GT) in all-cash deal trade to join Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024 and replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of MI. Fans didn’t like the franchise decision and Hardik was booed incessantly during the IPL matches.
From criticism to glory
Hardik also failed to fire for the five-time IPL champions and under his captaincy MI finished ninth in the points table. He faced trolling and backlash from the fans both on and off the field during the IPL 2024 but didn’t say a word and continued to work hard on his game.
After IPL, He was appointed the vice-captain of Team India for the T20 World Cup 2024 and Indian fans criticised Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid for Hardik’s selection in the squad. But Hardik silenced his critics with an outstanding performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 and played a crucial in India’s victory. He picked up 11 wickets and scored crucial 144 runs.
Hardik also defended 15 runs in the last over of the final match against South Africa to set up the thrilling win for Rohit Sharma-led India at Kensington Oval in Barbados. He took 3 wickets and conceded only 20 runs in the three overs against South Africa in the final and helped Team India to end their long-standing ICC trophy drought.
After the match, Hardik admitted that the last 6 months were very tough for him but he didn’t say anything to anyone and kept working hard.
“It means a lot. Very emotional, we’ve been working very hard and something was not clicking. But today we got what the whole nation wanted. More special for me, how my last 6 months were, I haven’t spoken a word. I knew that if I kept working hard I could shine and do what I could do. Getting an opportunity like this makes it more special. We always believed, it was just about executing our plans and staying calm and letting the pressure come to them” Hardik said on Star Sports.
After the T20 World Cup, Hardik and his ex-wife Natasha Stankovic announced their separation on social media and said that ‘they would co-parent their son’ in a joint statement. The all-rounder has played only four matches for Team India after the T20 World Cup and has performed brilliantly.
Happy Birthday, Hardik Pandya: The Indian all-rounder turned 31 on October 11. Take a look at his remarkable comeback journey. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
