Overcoming adversity: The inspiring tale of Hardik Pandya

A couple of years back, Kiran More International Cricket Academy faced a strange problem while going out to field at a local match. They were one fast bowler short. The players were asked who would be willing to roll their arm over and it was a lanky 18-year-old right-arm leg-spinner who volunteered. By the end of the match, his tally of 7 wickets had stunned his teammates beyond their realm of belief.

Thus began the journey of medium-pacer Hardik Pandya.

The claim to fame

It would be inequitable indeed to classify Pandya as simply another medium-pacer earning the fruits of labour in the domestic circuit. Pandya is an allrounder. Neither is he a batsman in the conventional sense of the term nor the unmatchable bowling talent standing out in the midst of plenty others – he is the resourceful Jack-of-all-trades guy who brings reassurance to the team.

Much before his 8-ball 21 outburst in the IPL this year that earned him a Man of the Match award and thrust him into overnight fame, Pandya had been spotted by then Mumbai Indians coach John Wright in a West Zone match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year.

Baroda had lost both their openers to Dhawal Kulkarni and Suryakumar Yadav by the fifth over before 20-year-old Pandya seized the reins and resurrected the innings single-handedly with a determined 82 off 57 balls – a magnificent innings studded with four sixes and six hits to the rope. A couple of late cameos by the Pathan brothers helped their team to a fighting 144 in 20 overs. Mumbai ultimately lost the match by 19 runs, but by then, Wright had seen enough of Pandya to call him for the selection trials.

The struggles to continue a dream

However, it hasn’t always been an easy ride for Hardik and his brother Krunal. Their story is barely any different from the clichéd rags-to-riches plot, as Krunal candidly recalls. “It was a very tough period for all of us. Those were hard days because my father had three heart attacks. We have not seen the worst phase in cricket but we saw it more in personal life,” the elder son of Himanshu Pandya says.

Moving in from Surat in order to continue his sons’ regular cricket training at Vadodara had imposed tremendous hardship on Himanshu. Being the sole bread-earner for the family, he tried doing odd jobs before settling down at a small-time car-finance business.

Finances, however, plunged to agonizing depths as the boys were often left to spend entire days at the grounds with a single meal of noodles. Familiar with Himanshu’s struggles, Kiran More under whose tutelage the brothers began their careers aged 5 and 7, refused to charge any fee for the first three years.

It is this humble background that compels Ajay Pawar, who has monitored Hardik and Krunal’s progress at the KMICA since their Under-14 days, to believe that they wouldn’t get carried away. While Krunal is gradually carving a niche for himself in the Baroda Ranji team, it has been his younger brother who has stolen the spotlight courtesy a spectacular IPL season with the victorious Mumbai outfit.

The ability to absorb pressure

Aggression and exuberance have always been the defining features of Pandya’s cricket. The wider cricketing world got a hint of that when he nonchalantly plundered boundaries off Umesh Yadav, butchered Sunil Narine and hammered 17 runs off an Andre Russell over en route to his match-winning 31-ball-61 knock against the Kolkata Knight Riders on May 14.

His coaches, however, haven’t been floored by this display of absolute fearlessness against top-class international bowlers. Pandya has already made a name for himself in first-class cricket for his calculated bravado and penchant for assuming responsibility in pressure situations.

Jitendra Singh, who has coached Pandya for the last five years, maintains, "Give him a challenging situation and Hardik always comes out on top. Though aggressive in nature, he knows how to control his temper and construct a proper innings."

Indeed, the flamboyant allrounder has displayed his class time and again under adverse circumstances. In an Under-16 tournament conducted by the BCCI in 2009, Pandya walked into the middle with Baroda reeling at 23/4 in reply to a mammoth score of 350-plus by Mumbai. What ensued thereafter was unadulterated brilliance as the right-hander piled up 228 runs steering his team to victory via first innings lead. So special is the double century to his heart, that Pandya opted for 228 when asked to choose a jersey number by the Mumbai Indians.

Scaling heights during the IPL

It had taken him some time to earn a break into the Ranji squad, but once he had done that, he ensured he kept his place with a string of consistent performances with both the ball and the willow. Dubbed by Baroda teammates Irfan and Yusuf Pathan as the one to watch out for, it’s no exaggeration to state that even with limited opportunities, the reassured fire in his belly has catapulted Pandya to feats only few could dream of.

He had been hand-picked by the legendary Australian Ricky Ponting among a considerably long list of cricketers at the selection trials before the season. By the end of it, Ponting has been left impressed by the youngster’s potential and promise. Even Sachin Tendulkar vouched for Pandya’s talent during the course of the season.

Where it all began

More, though, had seen enough of the lad to be amused. When his father had brought Krunal to More’s academy, Hardik’s elder brother was merely seven years of age. More, as a rule, did not admit kids below 12 at his academy, but he decided to humor Himanshu nonetheless. While Krunal impressed the former national selector at first sight, his 5-year-old brother overwhelmed More with his agility and interest in the game.

“I remember both Krunal and Hardik wore all the cricketing gears and the way they batted, it made me change my decision. It was the day I realised that talent can come in any form or in any age,” he admits.

Pandya’s ability to time the ball immaculately has been praised by all and sundry. However, what sets him apart, according to his brother, is the manner in which he reads the game and assesses the situation quickly. “He has a very smart cricketing brain. During the CSK game he didn’t charge Dwayne Bravo because he knew he is the best bowler,” Krunal asserts.

The next step forward

Traditional in his approach, More strikes the right chords when he harps on the performances in Ranji Trophy more than those in the IPL. Having witnessed Pandya’s growth and development as a cricketer right from the beginning of the latter’s career, the former India wicket-keeper probably understands his game like none else. So when he guarantees Pandya’s temperament and aptitude to thrive long enough to make a mark, one believes that he knows what he is talking about.

India’s quest for a regular fast-bowling No.7 has remained futile for too long and albeit far-fetching, it may not be too presumptuous to consider Pandya among the few gunning for the coveted spot in the near future. There is a long way to go and all he needs is the urge to last the distance, consistent as he is.

Not always do you earn compliments from Tendulkar and Ponting. But once you do, you got to make it worth the words.