Koffee with Controversy
Pandya has has enough bouquets and brickbats last year. Last January, Hardik Pandya along with K L Rahul, jeopardised their careers by passing sexist remarks on Koffee with Karan, a popular celebrity talk show. The incident prompted the Committee of Administrators (COA) to call the duo back from the tour of Australia, handing them provisional suspensions.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India too imposed a fine of ₹20 lakh each. This is in addition to being trolled on social media and heckled on the field, after they started playing. Both the two players spoke publicly on the incident, calling it one of the toughest phases of their careers.
Injury hurts T20 international
But that was not the end of his troubles. Pandya was also left out of the South Africa Test series due to stress fractures in his lower back. He also missed the T20 International series against Bangladesh due to an injury.
Pandya was the only Indian all-rounder to feature on ICC ODI Player Rankings
In spite of many misses, Pandya made it to the top 10 all-rounders, with 246 rating points. England's World Cup hero Ben Stokes tops the chart with 319 rating points, followed by Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan.
In fact, it was the all-rounder skills that he displayed during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament — a Twenty 20 cricket domestic championship in India, that brought him to the Indian cricket team. He debuted in a T20 International in Australia in 2017 where he scored a century against Sri Lanka in the final of the three-match series.
IPL changed things for Pandya
Though Pandya is known as a celebrity who brags about himself and his lifestyle, he came from humble beginnings. There was a time when Pandya used to play local tournaments for ₹500. His life changed when Mumbai Indians bought him for ₹10 lakh in the IPL 2015 auction.
He played in 11 Tests, 54 ODIs and 40 T20Is. Now, Padya is believed to be an integral part of the Indian team as it heads to Australia for this year's World T20.
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