The $4 Million All-Rounder: Hardik Pandya’s Path to Riches

Can anyone ever believe that a guy who once survived on Maggi is now one of the best all-rounders of India? This guy has made his name in the world of cricket. His attacking batting style and impactful bowling have made everyone his fan. Hardik is one such player that every team needs. Undoubtedly, he is the Game Changer of the match. This emerging star has shown the result of his hard work and determination. Today, we’ll study his life and the ups & downs of this journey.

Hardik Pandya - Statistics

• Full Name – Hardik Himanshu Pandya
• Nickname - Hairy, Kung Fu Pandya
• Born - 11 October 1993 (27 years)
• Birth - Surat, Gujarat
• Role - Batting all-rounder
• Batting - Right-handed
• Bowling - Right-arm fast-medium pacer
• No. of tests played - 11
• No. of ODIs played - 60
• No. of T20I played - 48

Hardik Pandya - Early Life

Hardik Pandya was born in a Gujarati Family in Surat. His father, Himanshu Padya, had a small business in that city. Later, the family moved to Vadodara to get good exposure to cricket. The family had many financial issues and, his father had to shut down his business for his sons.

Hardik Pandya: Early Training

Hardik went to Kiran More’s Cricket Academy. According to his elder brother, he was an attacking player from the beginning. Hardik dropped out of school after 9th grade to focus on his cricket career.

He was initially a leg spinner but turned to a fast bowler in Sanath Kumar’s coaching.

He played for the Baroda Cricket team and had a vital role in winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy in the 2013-14 seasons.

Hardik Pandya - Family and Personal Life

Hardik has an elder brother Krunal Pandya. Both are one of the few brothers who have played for the Indian Cricket Team on an International level. Both of them also play for the same IPL team (Mumbai Indians).

Hardik married Natasa Stankovic (Serbian dancer and Indian Actress) on 1 January 2020 in a private ceremony. The couple also has a son, Agastya Pandya.

Hardik Pandya – Career

• T20I Career Sachin Tendulkar told Hardik that he might play for India very soon. He got selected for the Indian team within a year for the 2016 ICC World T20 and 2016 Asia Cup. He was just 22 at the time of his debut match against Australia and, he ended up picking two wickets for his team. He also bowled his best figures in that tournament against Pakistan’s team (3 wickets for eight runs). His batting was also good. He was the first player to take four-wicket and score 30 plus runs in a single T20I match.
• ODI Career Hardik Pandya is one of those few players who won the Man of the Match award in his debut match. Hardik debuted against New Zealand in 2016. He has a strike rate of 30 plus in the One-day format with a top score of unbeaten 92 runs. Hardik has taken 55 wickets with a bowling average of 40.34. Hardik is one of the crucial players of the Indian cricket team and, he has proved himself a lot of times.
• Test Career Hardik has, unfortunately, hasn’t played a lot of test cricket. He made his debut in 2017 against Sri Lanka. Hardik was selected in 2016 also, but he had to leave the game due to injury. He is the first Indian Batsman to hit a century before lunch. He has also set a record of most runs in a single over (26 runs). Hardik’s test century has his first International century (108 runs)

Hardik Pandya - IPL

Hardik Pandya has played for only one team since the beginning of his IPL career. He started playing for Mumbai Indians and, even in 2021, he still plays for this particular team only. He is being retained by that team every year due to his outstanding performances. His brilliant knock against CSK in the finals of 2015 made him won the Man of the Match Awards. He made 21 runs off just eight balls and also took three crucial catches.

His performance made his team won the title over Chennai Super Kings by six wickets. He has been a part of so many victories of Mumbai Indians and, he is a lucky charm for the team.

His dedication to the team and his attacking batting and bowling style score every player. He is also one of the highest valued played in the IPL.

Hardik Pandya - Awards and Achievements

• Fastest Half-century in ICC Champions Trophy Final
• Man of the Match in ODI debut
• ODI XI of the year by Cricinfo, 2017
• Top scorer in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2016

Hardik Pandya - Brands Endorsements

Hardik’s huge fan following has helped him in grabbing many brand endorsements. Due to his crazy fan base, companies want him to be their brand ambassador.

He charges around 36-40 lakhs per sponsored post on Instagram and 2-3 crores for every TV commercial. Some of the brands endorsed by him are as follows:

• Dream11
• My fitness
• Gulf Battery
• Boat Nirvana
• Gulf Oil
• Villain life
• Gillette
• Sin Denim
• Tata Altoz
• Eairtec
• Monster energy

Hardik Pandya - Fans and Followings

Hardik Pandya is pretty active on his various social media handles. Be it Instagram or Twitter he, makes sure to post regularly and entertain all his followers.

He has around 18.5 million followers on Instagram and more than 6.5 million followers on Twitter. Hardik pretty much posts every day on Instagram. Most of his posts are either related to his cricket practices or his family or some brand endorsements.

Hardik Pandya – Giving Everything to the Game

Hardik Pandya’s life was full of struggle and hard work. But this small town boy broke all the barriers and came out with flying colors. His story is full of motivation and, everyone should take inspiration from his life. He is a true sportsman who gave his everything to the game. Hardik is ideal for all those youngsters who want to achieve something on their own.