In a sweet and heartwarming gesture, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya kept his word and gifted his bat to pace-bowling woman all-rounder Kashvee Gautam ahead of her potential India debut.

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Pandya met Kashvee (who plays for Gujarat Giants) during the Women's Premier League (WPL) match against Mumbai Indians and promised to send a bat for her after he came to know that the Gujarat Giants player idolises him. She had even written HP33 on her bat.

Kashvee made her WPL debut in the 2025 season with Gujarat Giants and played nine matches. She picked 11 wickets and also scored 43 runs. The 21-year-old was the leading wicket-taker for her franchise in the tournament. Her performance bagged her maiden India call-up for the tri-nation One-day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka and South Africa starting on April 27. India will take on Sri Lanka women in the opening match on April 27.

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Kashvee's second meeting with Pandya took place at the Arun Jaitely Stadium, New Delhi, ahead of the Mumbai Indians' Sunday match against the Delhi Capitals. The MI captain congratulated Kashvee for her maiden call-up and wished her luck for the future.

See the heartwarming video:

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For Pandya, the ongoing IPL season has not been so great as Mumbai has only managed to win one in four matches. Mumbai is placed at the penultimate spot in the points table with two points. Mumbai Indians suffered a 12-run loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Wankhede Stadium earlier this week.

On the other hand, the Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals have been on a roll with four successive wins in as many games. The only unbeaten team in the league so far, they are placed at the top of the table with eight points, ahead of Gujarat Titans, on basis of net run rate.

In their last match, KL Rahul's unbeaten 93 powered Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday.

(With inputs from agencies)