Hardik Pandya has one of the most amazing comeback stories in Indian cricket. He didn’t just cut short his ODI World Cup when he got an ankle injury, but in addition to that, he got jeers at IPL before T20 World Cup and personal issues off the pitch disheartened him. Nonetheless, within three months, the all rounder and India’s T20 vice-captain demonstrated remarkable determination and resilience in overcoming adversity and changing everything.
Fans were initially angry when Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians (MI) as captain following Rohit Sharma. It was not well received and fans showed their anger on Pandya. It did more harm than good to his personal game, let alone a poor season for five-time IPL champions MI.
Again, there have been unverified reports of separation between him and wife Natasa Stankovic adding to his personal problems.
At Ahmedabad where Pandya first captained Mumbai Indians side for their season opener, it was boos from fans. When he first appeared at Wankhede Stadium home match during the toss, the harshest response ever came from him. From that point commentator Sanjay Manjrekar a former cricketer for India-Mumbai had to intervene asking crowd “behave” while a toss against Rajasthan Royals was taking place.
But India’s T20 World Cup-winning over against South Africa changed everything with Hardik delivering three wickets to top India’s bowling charts in title clash itself.
He landed at Wankhede Stadium Thursday after returning from Marine Drive victory parade through Mumbai where deafening cheers emanated from a stadium filled with thousands of supporters; prior negativity turned into overwhelming backing as well as respect for this resilient athlete who had encountered so much along the way.
“See you soon, Wankhede,” wrote the world cup champion with a selfie carrying his trophy before they marched here.
‘Hardik… Hardik’ chants rang out in the stadium.
Among the people to disembark first at the airport, Pandya proudly carried the trophy over his shoulder. He then led them to his ‘homeground’ where hundreds of fans had been waiting for hours just to have a glimpse of that treasured prize.
Nobody was concerned about chaos or stampedes though as the atmosphere remained festive with everyone coming together to cheer on India’s heroes. Pandya spent a couple of hours on an open bus ride before heading to Wankhede Stadium.
During his speech, Virat Kohli emphasized on Suryakumar Yadav’s catch that happened during the final over which was by Pandya. The mention of this moment made Wankhede crowd go wild and appreciate his performance then they chanted ‘Hardik…. Hardik’.
“The biggest turnaround happened in terms of (when) he was included. We could bat deep and we had an extra bowling option. In last ODI World Cup final we missed him,” said a fan talking to PTI.
“Hardik’s mental strength is extraordinary, he was booed in (the first game) here against CSK but still he did not say anything back he just kept his head down and went about his work,” another fan told PTI.
The hate he was subjected to was uncalled for. The owners took him in, it had nothing to do with him. What is the use of booing him… Well, we didn’t make it this far (for the IPL 2024 playoffs) but we’re just here to cheer him and laugh all day,” he said.
“Our problem as MI fans is that we have memories that are too short. Now we will be shouting ‘Mumbaicha Raja Hardik Hardik’. We will acknowledge his presidency at MI,” he said.
“It’s unlike international cricket where everything is serious; this is pure entertainment cricket so I’m happy for him and he scored runs and took wickets at crucial times. We needed that (Heinrich) Klaasen wicket (in the final),” said Srinivas Reddy another fan who finished work at 3:30 am in his job at a bank in Hyderabad and caught an early morning flight to Mumbai.
