Dubai Hardik Himanshu Pandya is India’s answer to a seaming allrounder and its no wonder that many cricket fans are comparing him with legendary former Indian allrounder and captain Kapil Dev.
And if that’s not enough, Pandya is a dynamic fielder as well.
So exciting is he as a batsman that when he comes out to bat, fans are applaud for him and when he assumes his bowling role they expect him to take a wicket.
Although only 23, many cricketing pundits believe Pandya has all the traits to become one of India’s best allrounders. Although he was born in Gujarat, he made his first class debut for Baroda in 2013 and has progressed as a player with every season. He may have been just another allrounder in the country but Pandya has worked hard to become the best.
Initially people turned out to watch him in action in the IPL. But now they are cueing up to watch him in action in ODIs and even Test cricket. The feeling is, he has the ability to even single-handedly win matches through his explosive batting. Pandya has made such an impression that many youngsters have already started to idolise him.
Let us examine the five reasons which make him stand out as a rising allrounder.
Passion for the game
It was a tough beginning for Pandya. His father, Himanshu Pandya, was an everyday car finance businessman in Surat who shifted to Vadodara to ensure that his two sons will get the opportunity to play cricket. Pandya was just five then and his younger brother Krunal, three years old. They both joined former Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More’s academy in Vadodara. Pandya Sr., despite not being financially strong, even rented a house with a vision to give his sons a good training in cricket. Pandya studied till the ninth standard, but he got so involved in cricket that he took the risk of dropping out of school to focus on his new passion.
His mother wanted him to complete his studies but his father backed his decision to quit school in favour of a sport that was close to his heart. Pandya once said in an interview: “I was never told that I should be a graduate to be successful in life. My father supported my decision and I took up cricket full time and that helped me get into the Baroda team.”
A natural striker of the ball
Pandya proved that he is a genuine striker of the ball while playing for Baroda. There have been many instances of him turning the match around with his powerful hitting. In 2015, at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Baroda were 20 for 2 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and he rescued the side with a breezy 82 off 57 balls against an attack made up of Zaheer Khan, Pravin Tambe and Dhawal Kulkarni, to set up the victory. Watching his knock was IPL’s Mumbai Indians coach John Wright and he decided to watch follow Pandya’s career and was at the next match he played against Gujarat in which he took three wickets and scored a quick 37 runs. That paved the way for him to join the IPL.
Role of IPL
Pandya got a call to join the Mumbai Indians camp as a back-up for an injured player in 2014. He was with the team for around 15 days till the injured player recovered. In 2015, Pandya was picked by Mumbai Indians for a base price of Rs 10 lakhs (Dh 56,000 approx). He was in awe at getting to be with players like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma as part of the Mumbai Indians team. One thing Pandya knew was that he has arrived on the big stage and that it is just a matter of a few top performances. He got to make his IPL debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore and he hit the second ball he faced for a six to announce his arrival. He scored 16 runs off six balls in that game. However the innings that caught the attention of everyone was his 21 off eight balls against Chennai Super Kings at the M A Chidambaram stadium when Mumbai needed 30 runs from two overs. He hit three sixes off Pawan Negi. This was followed by an unbeaten 61 off 31 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders.
The confidence
It did not take Pandya long to reach the Indian team that wanted an allrounder who can bowl fast in Australia during the limited-over series. In January 2016, he played against Australia in a T20 match at Adelaide and took two wickets in India’s 37 run win. His consistent show won him a place in the Indian 2016 World Cup team. Pandya’s confidence is his forte and once when asked about his ability to perform under pressure he said: “I keep calm always and never allow the pressure to affect me. I love to put my hand up with then team is under pressure. I know that when things are not going well, then is the time to deliver. If you do well then everyone will remember you forever.”
Game changer
Pandya is now known as a game changer. Some of his innings have changed the course of match. His ability to also take wickets at curial times has made him a captain’s delight. Mumbai Indian’s head coach Ricky Ponting, after one of his match winning displays, called him as a fearless kid. IPL also taught him how to face challenges and bowl and bat against world class bowlers. He followed Ponting’s advice: “If you work hard you will go on to play for India soon.” Even if he played a brilliant knock or produced a great spell, he made sure to practice even harder the next day.
FACT BOX
Name: Hardik Himanshu Pandya
Born: October 11, 1993, Choryasi, Gujarat (Age 23 years)
Style: Right hand middle order batsman and right arm fast medium bowler
Role: All-rounder
Format Mts Inns NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct
Tests 3 3 0 178 108 59.33 107.87 1 1 4
ODIs 24 15 3 489 83 40.75 122.55 0 4 9
T20Is 19 10 0 100 31 10.00 133.33 0 0 11
Format Balls Runs Wkts Best Ave R/o
Tests 192 95 4 2\31 23.75 2.96
ODIs 1034 953 28 3\31 34.03 5.52
T20Is 291 389 15 3\8 25.93 8.02
Notes:
** Mumbai Indians bought him in the 2015 edition of the IPL.
** In his fourth IPL game he made a unbeaten 21 in just 8 balls, that included three towering sixes against CSK at Chennai.
** In his sixth match for MI, he hit a 31-ball unbeaten 61 for Mumbai against Kolkata in his first season.
** In January 2016 Hardik Pandya was the leading run-getter in the Syed Mushtaq Ali, a domestic T20 tournament, finishing with 377 runs in 10 innings at an average of 53.85 while maintaining a strike rate of 130.90. He also took 10 wickets and was instrumental in Baroda reaching the finals.
** he was picked for India’s tour to Australia in January 2016 for the T20Is.
** He began with a 19-run over on his international debut at Adelaide but came back strongly to almost take a hat-trick, He claimed two wickets in that match.
** In the 2016 World T20 in March, he bowled the last over and defended two runs off three balls against Bangladesh at Bangalore.
** Later in the year he made his ODI debut against New Zealand at Dharamsala when he claimed 3/31 in his 7 overs. He was MoM in his ODI debut.
** He made his Test debut in July this year at Galle and began with a 49 ball 50 with three sixes and 5 fours. In the third Test at Pallekele he made his maiden 100 in class of cricket at senior level. His 108 came in 96 balls, with 7 sixes and 8 fours. He reached his 100 off just 86 balls. He became the first Indian batsman to score a Test century just before lunch and during the same innings he set the record for scoring the most number of runs in a single over of a test innings (26 runs) for India.
** In the ongoing ODI series against Australia his scores have been 83 (66 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes) at Chennai and 78 (72 balls, 5 fours, 4 sixes). And was MoM in both!
- Mohandas Menon
