Hardik Pandya opens up on 'dream' of playing for India, credits his father for his success
Hardik Pandya.
India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya opened up about his cricket journey as he said that he played in every local tournament to show his "worth" to the world. Crediting his father,whom he lost earlier this year, for his success, Pandya revealed his father had "tremendous faith" in his abilities and that's why he never stopped him from playing cricket.
Hardik is part of India's 15-member squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which is underway in Dubai as India is preparing to begin their campaign against Pakistan on October 24.
In a video shared on the official Instagram page Dream 11, Pandya said, "Dad ne mere liye ek bada step liya tha and I had to repay his faith. I played in every local tournament to show my worth to the world."
"In such tournaments, those who remained not out till the end were given some prize money. I made sure to win it every time. These small wins contributed towards my big dream of playing for India. The day I got my India debut, I felt I had repaid my father’s sacrifices a tiny bit," he added.
Pandya further said, "My father had tremendous faith in my abilities. That’s why he never stopped me from playing cricket. He did something no father would do. He shut everything in Surat and moved to Vadodara. We shifted there kyunki wahan pe young cricketers had better opportunities."
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The inclusion of Pandya in the squad has been debated by critics and fans also. Cricket pundits had suggested a rejig in the Indian squad, however, the team management has repeatedly stated that Pandya's bowling is crucial for the team's balance.
The concerns further raised as during the recently concluded IPL 2021 campaign, Pandya didn't bowl a single over during Mumbai Indians' campaign.
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However, commenting on Pandya's availability, Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday (October 20) said that the all-rounder is expected to be "ready" to bowl when the team starts its T20 World Cup campaign.
"Hardik is coming along pretty well, but it'll be a while before he will start to bowl. He hasn't started bowling, but he should be ready by the start of the tournament," said Rohit at the toss for the warm-up match against Australia that India won by nine wickets.
During the warm-up match against Australia, India registered a convincing nine-wicket win while chasing 153. Pandya (14 not out off 8) came at four to finish the game and he did it with a clean hit over the bowler's head.