Kamal Ghorui
India’s premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya has revisited the turning point of his career, casting his mind back to the dramatic final over against Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2016 that first thrust him into the national spotlight. Tasked with defending 11 runs in the last over, Pandya held his nerve in a finish that remains one of the most unforgettable moments of that tournament. Nearly a decade on, he is now part of India’s squad as a senior figure in their title defence. He believes that night in 2016 laid the foundation for everything that followed.
“I think all these moments made me the kind of person I am. There were early challenges in my international career where I had to hold my ground and back myself. It was important to have belief. In cricket, even if there is just a 1% chance, the game is not over until the last ball of the match is bowled. “That Bangladesh match was a classic example of that. One ball before the wicket, the batter had started celebrating as if the game was over. He was celebrating right in front of me, and it was all happening before my eyes. “When things turn around like that, they create wonderful memories. Every time I see it, I think about how, in the early days, that was one of the challenges in my life and one of the moments in my career that shaped Hardik Pandya. I have had many more moments like this, but my journey started with that one,” Pandya said on JioStar. Pandya also described himself as a bowling-first “cricket geek”, admitting that he has not yet fully unlocked his batting ability. After the most recent IPL season, he realised he wanted to push towards his true ceiling as a batter. He also acknowledged the role his girlfriend, Mahieka, played in helping him reconnect with the joy of the sport. “I think the child in me, the cricket geek, who is always there, was focusing more on my skill set as a bowler. I have always had a lot of confidence in my bowling, but batting was very close to my heart. “After the last IPL, I realised that I really wanted to play to Hardik’s full potential. I think until now, I haven’t utilised more than 40 per cent of my batting potential, and that is genuinely honest feedback. “What I know as a cricketer, what I imagine, what I manifest, and how I practice, have not translated into performance by more than 40 per cent. I took some time in my life to figure out how to bring that out. That’s when Mahieka came into my life. “We started talking about the sport and how to bring that child back. She helped me rediscover that excitement for the game that I always had. I went behind the scenes, worked really hard, and had a good amount of batting sessions. “There were days when I was on the ground for six to seven hours. When I went to the NCA, I would go at 3:30 in the afternoon and finish at 12:30 at night. I was usually the last person to leave and shut the lights off,” he added. Those marathon sessions at the NCA in Bengaluru, stretching from mid-afternoon until well past midnight, underline Pandya’s determination to turn potential into performance as he enters the next phase of his international journey.
