[Watch] “You are a champion” – Ishan Kishan lauds Hardik Pandya for his fightback 

Ishan Kishan lauded vice-captain Hardik Pandya for his fightback as India won the 2024 T20 World Cup. The wicketkeeper-batter credited his Mumbai Indians (MI) captain for his focus, hard work, and sincerity in turning things around after a forgetful IPL 2024 campaign.

Hardik scored 216 runs and bagged 11 wickets in 14 matches in IPL 2024. The all-rounder, however, justified his T20 World Cup selection by scoring 144 runs and picking up 11 wickets in eight games. He defended 16 runs in the final over against South Africa before ending up with figures of 3/20.

Sharing a video on Instagram, Kishan captioned the post:

“You [Hardik Pandya] faced so many things these past few months yet you stayed calm and focused. And today bhaiya, you got the result of your hard work, honesty, and sincerity. There’s so much more I feel and want to say but words will fall short. You are a champion and you are rare.”

Watch the clip below:

On the professional front, Ishan Kishan has lost his place in Team India across all formats. The southpaw scored 320 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 148.84 in IPL 2024.

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“I always felt that if I give any answer, it would be through sports” – Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya said he was delighted to win critics with his performance at the 2024 T20 World Cup after being booed by the crowd during IPL 2024.

In an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Champions meet in New Delhi on Thursday, he said (via ANI):

“Last 6 months have been very entertaining for me, there have been a lot of ups and downs and the public booed me. A lot of things happened and I always felt that if I give any answer, it would be through sports. So, I believed that I would stay strong, will work hard.”

For the unversed, Hardik received one of the loudest cheers during the BCCI’s felicitation ceremony of Team India on Thursday at Wankhede Stadium.