Hardik Pandya

Lore & Background

Pandya was born on 11 October 1993 in Choryasi, Surat, Gujarat. His father, Himanshu Pandya, ran a small car finance business in Surat which he shut down and moved to Vadodara when Hardik was five to provide his sons with better cricket training facilities. Himanshu Pandya worked as a loan consultant in Vadodara. He enrolled his two sons into Kiran More's cricket academy in Vadodara. Lacking finances, the Pandya family lived in a rented apartment in Gorwa, with the brothers using a second-hand car to travel to the cricket ground. Hardik studied at the MK High School until ninth grade before dropping out to focus on cricket. Pandya made steady progress in junior-level cricket, and according to Krunal, 'won a lot of matches single-handedly' in club cricket. In an interview with the Indian Express, Hardik said that he was dropped from his state age-group teams due to his 'attitude problems'. He added that he was 'just an expressive child' who did not 'like to hide his emotions.' According to his father, Pandya was a leg spinner until the age of 18 and turned to fast bowling at the insistence of the Baroda coach Sanath Kumar.

Reader's Guide

Pandya has been playing for Baroda since 2013. He played a vital role in helping Baroda win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2013–14 season. In January 2016, he slammed eight sixes during his innings of 86 not out to guide Baroda to a six-wicket victory over Vidarbha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Pandya played for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL from 2015 to 2021. Against the Kolkata Knight Riders, in a must-win match for Mumbai Indians to remain in the playoff race, he scored 61 runs off 31 balls to take the match, earning him his second man of the match award of the 2015 season. Ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, Pandya was released by the Mumbai Indians. He was then drafted by the new Ahmedabad-based franchise, Gujarat Titans, and named captain of the team. He led Gujarat to their maiden IPL title in 2022, becoming the first captain after Shane Warne in 2008 to lead a team to the title in its debut season. In IPL 2023 Pandya again led Gujarat Titans to their second consecutive final but lost to Chennai Super Kings by five wickets through DLS method. In November 2023, Pandya returned to the Mumbai Indians after two seasons with the Gujarat Titans in an all-cash trade deal which involved Cameron Green being traded from the Mumbai Indians to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Pandya was later named captain of the team, replacing Rohit Sharma, a decision that drew criticism from the home crowd, who booed Pandya during the 2024 season. Under Pandya's captaincy, Mumbai Indians ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2024, failing to qualify for the playoffs and finishing last in the league stage with 4 wins in 14 games. Pandya scored 216 runs batting at various positions between 4–8, at an average of 18.00. With the ball, he took 11 wickets with an economy of 10.75.

Did You Know?

• Pandya made his T20I debut for India on 27 January 2016 at the age of 22, picking up 2 wickets against Australia.
• He scored his maiden T20I half-century against England at Southampton on 7 July 2022, also taking 4/33, making him the first Indian player to record a half-century and take 4 wickets in the same T20I.
• In the 2024 T20 World Cup final, Pandya took 3 wickets, including those of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, and bowled the last over of the match.
• Pandya made his ODI debut against New Zealand on 16 October 2016 at Dharamshala, becoming the fourth Indian to be named player of the match on ODI debut.
• He scored his maiden Test century in the 3rd and final Test match against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, setting the record for becoming the first Indian batsman to score a Test century just before lunch.