'I'm learning from my inspiration' - Bhanu Pania, Baroda's record-setting sensation and a chip off the Hardik Pandya block [Exclusive]

A strapping, muscular middle-order batter who bats primarily as a finisher and hits sixes for fun, he plies his trade for Baroda and lit up the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024-25.

No, it's not Hardik Pandya.

But comparisons are all but natural, for it's not just Bhanu Pania's clean swing over mid-wicket that wears an uncanny resemblance to the superstar India all-rounder. Talk to him for a few minutes and you realize you are conversing with Hardik's kindred spirit.

Confidence. Pania oozes with plenty of it. Much like his six-hitting, he doesn't have to try to showcase his confidence when he speaks. He's a natural.

The right-handed dasher, now 28, has taken a while to make a name for himself on the domestic scene. December 5, 2024, would prove to be a red-letter day in Pania's career, though. The Emerald High School Ground in Indore saw records tumble for fun as Baroda, in a must-win scenario to qualify for the knockouts of SMAT 2024-25, plundered Sikkim's bowlers for 349/5 - a world record for the highest T20 score to date.

At the forefront of it all was Pania, who waltzed to an unbeaten 51-ball 134 studded with a whopping 15 sixes, capitalizing on a 31-ball 92-run opening stand between Shashwat Rawat (43 off 16) and Abhimanyusingh Rajput (53 off 17) having walked in at number 3.

15 sixes by one man alone? It's remarkable enough if a team whips up as many in an innings but Pania did it all by himself. The rest of the batting lineup combined for 22 of their own though as Baroda ransacked records for fun.

"I got a lot of texts and calls (after that match)," Pania says in a tell-all chat with Sportskeeda. "For two days, my phone kept ringing. After that innings I was like ‘yeh kya kar diya maine? Aisa kaisa ho gaya?’ (What have I done? How did this happen?) Then our video analyst told us that we shattered multiple records as a team. So I was very happy and very proud that we actually qualified."

Such was the tightly-crammed nature of Group B though that Baroda had to win by a big margin to secure a direct spot in the quarterfinals as opposed to going the route of the pre-quarterfinals. It was very clear in Pania's mind then that they had to win and win big to ensure that the net run rate favored them.

Yet, there seems to be no limit to his confidence - without being overconfident, of course.

"The previous day, I told my friend that we have to make at least 400 against Sikkim. He laughed at this and asked ‘Paagal ho gaya hai kya? 20 over mein 400 run?’ (Have you gone mad? 400 in 20 overs?) I said no, we will score that many. I had the belief. I believe in doing such things like hitting six sixes in six balls, tearing into a famous bowler. That kind of mindset is inbuilt," he added.

Even as the limits of what is a safe score in T20s continue to be tested, here's a man who had a 400-run total in sight.

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How Bhanu Pania engineered his cricketing journey from Jodhpur to Baroda

Tales of players switching states for greener pastures are pretty well-documented in the sport. It wasn't too different for Pania either, who hails from a middle-class background. His father, a government teacher, and his mother, a homemaker, were keen to mold him towards academics.

But Pania had his eyes set on something else even as the path was unconventional and he registered for a graduation course in engineering under the Rajasthan Technical University.

"I wanted to do something unique in life," he said in the same interview. "I was a basketball player but I never thought that I would opt for cricket in sports. So alongside my engineering, my brother Anil and my two coaches, Shahrukh bhaiya and Pradyot bhaiya from Spartans Cricket Academy, told me to switch states. I used to play tennis ball cricket in Jodhpur but they told me that there is no scope in Rajasthan. I attended 2-3 trials. I played six balls. I used to go to Jaipur from Jodhpur, 300 km away, and then they used to send me back. So, it was a bit disheartening, but I was always motivated by doing these unique things."

And so began the journey to Vadodara - whilst he was still completing his education in Jodhpur. He continued:

"I just wanted to play, that's it. I was happy with that. That was the most important part for me. So, that was the motivation that took me to Baroda, where my brother lives as a doctor. He asked me to come here and see how cricket is played."

"When I joined GSFC (the company Bhanu's brother Anil worked for) for the first time, the company's cricket team had Atit Sheth and Vishnu (Solanki) bhaiya. I didn't even know what spikes were. They gave me a pair of spikes for the first time and told me to run five rounds. I said, 'sir, I can't run with these sharp things. Ask me to hit sixes, I can do that. I can't run with these,'" he laughed as he recalled the moment.

Soon after, he enrolled himself with the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) and took part in their selection games. All while shunting to and from Jodhpur to attend classes - the good old problem of attendance, you see. Pania reveals how in the final year of his engineering course in 2018, he withdrew from his exams to take part in the selection matches where he scored over 600 runs in seven matches. His knocks included two double-hundreds - one score in excess of 250 - and a third hundred.

He did finish what he started off the field too though and cleared his examinations the following year. And all the toil and travel was worth it when he found his calling in the Baroda setup. Having initially started off at the Mohinder Lala Amarnath Cricket Academy, Pania soon moved to the Veteran Cricket Association and the Spartans Cricket Academy, both of whom he credits to have played a major part in his growth as a white ball player. He said:

"The first time I got a white jersey for Baroda, I played the JP Atray Tournament. I scored 90 odd against Air India which had Lalit Yadav from Delhi playing. There I hit him for sixes and I was convinced that 'yes I am made for this. I can score off anyone, anywhere.' My confidence level was very high thereafter. I then started playing for Baroda. They assigned a specific role to each batter. I used to take my role quite seriously – if I got five balls, I needed to make an impact. The growth that I had, I got it only after coming to Baroda."

Pania acknowledged the role his elder brother played during this uncertain time when he was away from home.

"I’ve grown a lot under him. He knows what my habits are, how I feel – he’s been a massive support for me. From my bats to my gloves, my 'elder brothers' in the academy, they used to support me a lot. I was very lucky to have such a family and friends who helped me fulfill this," Pania added.

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The Pandya influence on Bhanu Pania's cricketing journey

While the mindset to watch the ball and hit it as long as possible was inbuilt, Pania beams about having the opportunity to play with the man he calls his inspiration - Hardik Pandya.

"He is ruthless. He doesn't bother if it’s Jofra Archer bowling or (Jasprit) Bumrah bowling - of course Bumrah is in his team (in the IPL). But I like the way he hits the ball. So, I have seen him and I have grown and I have tried to do those small things. I am doing just 0.1% of what he does. But I am very happy that I was playing with him," Pania continued.

Feeding off the Pandya brothers - Hardik and Baroda skipper Krunal - was a great source of learning according to Pania.

"Whenever I needed something like a bat or gloves (they'd help me). I scored runs off Hardik bhaiya's bat. These small things really mean a lot to me," Pania said.

Elaborating on the one thing he has looked to imbibe from Hardik, it's the attitude of putting the team ahead of himself besides certain fine nuances about his power-hitting that he has picked up.

"I tried to learn from his attitude and confidence level. And secondly, his motive. I understood that cricket is not an individual game – even if I score a hundred or 200, what’s the point if my team doesn’t win? I learnt this from him that even if I score 30 runs, how useful can it be for my team? This year he was with us in the team, I asked him about hitting. He told me a few basic things on what I am doing and what I can do better. I was very happy since I realized ‘okay I’m making these mistakes but I’m learning from my inspiration,’" he elaborated.

Pania had his fanboy moment during the group fixture against Tamil Nadu at the Holkar Cricket Stadium. Chasing a monstrous 222, his team was in trouble at 66/3 when Pania, batting at number 4, forged brisk partnerships with Krunal (22 off 20) and Hardik (69 off 30) to script a famous win for Baroda. His 20-ball 42 comprised three fours and as many sixes as he tore into an India-quality spin attack reading Varun Chakravarthy and R Sai Kishore with minimal fuss.

Soon after came that fixture against Sikkim where captain Krunal came up to Pania after the toss and conveyed to him that he would be batting at No. 3.

"In my mind I was very sure. We got a very good start. It wasn’t me but the whole team who created the world record. Fine, I hit 15 sixes because I had to do that for my team. I cannot give credit to myself because it was a team effort. I got to face a lot of balls. But my mindset was ‘team ke liye khelna hai’ (I had to play for the team), so I kept hitting sixes," he added.

Pania's T20 numbers prior to the SMAT 2024-25 season read 341 runs at an average of 22.73 and a strike rate of 122.22. It all changed for the better this time around as he finished with 273 runs from 9 outings at an average of 54.60 and a strike rate of 214.96. His 25 sixes for the campaign were bettered only by Gujarat's Urvil Patel and Madhya Pradesh's Rajat Patidar. Something surely changed prior to this season.

Enter the third and arguably the most important Pandya in Pania's life - his strength and conditioning coach Priyansh Pandya, who first met Bhanu in mid-2023. With Pania keen to improve his returns, Priyansh assessed him in terms of his core, endurance, and rotational strengths before realizing that there was a chance for improvement.

"He's naturally gifted with power," Priyansh said. "He can hit sixes for fun. So we mainly worked on power maintenance and improving stamina. We worked a lot on aerobic and anaerobic work – a lot more on speed and stamina and high intensity efforts during matches. You can see during fielding scenarios and running between the wickets, he has improved a lot. I have seen better batting strokes and quicker reflexes as well on the field. We worked mainly on sprinting and stamina."

Was there a focus on his mindset too, perhaps?

"Physical performance correlates to mental performance as well", elaborated Priyansh. "I was working with that as well simultaneously so that he could feel confident about his performance and how he goes about his business. We worked upon that as well, but indirectly."

The results have certainly shown. Pania, while moving up and down the order in a successful SMAT season, has been used as the team's designated finisher during the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy where Baroda have secured a direct berth in the quarterfinals again. Batting largely at numbers 6 and 7, he has creamed 153 runs in five outings at an average of 51 and a terrific strike rate of 139.09.

It may have taken him a while to come of age but it's happened at last. IPL teams have kept an eye on him too even as that elusive gig hasn't come by just yet.

"I have been to the trials of CSK (Chennai Super Kings) where I scored a fifty off 12 balls. In the Rajasthan Royals’ trials I scored 29 sixes in two days. My job is to score runs and win matches. If I keep doing that well, the rest will fall into place. Also if I keep doing well in domestic cricket it is bound to happen," Pania said.

His Instagram bio reads these motivating words: 'the best is yet to come.'

"Ever since I started playing basketball, this has become a trademark line of mine – the best days are yet to come. No matter how well I do, it reminds me that I can do even better than this. I’ve written this on my bat as well. I keep seeing that and remind myself of it," he added.

The ever-improving Pania has miles in sight and miles that he aims to scale. But you can bet that his team-first attitude will see his eyes focused on just one immediate goal - lifting the Vijay Hazare Trophy with his Baroda teammates before the next chapter in this intriguing journey writes itself.