The Story
Hardik Pandya is one that has captured the headlines quite frequently in recent times. The seam bowling all-rounder has been taking giant strides in proving his potential to the cricketing world.
In some of the recent series, he had shown his versatility as a batsman and effectiveness as a bowler by contributing in both departments. At present, he seems like a perfect fit to Team India’s long-term plans considering the number of times he had managed to impress with his performances. His achievements look like a great indication of a future impact player in the making.
Talent meets Opportunity (and Proper Support)
Talent alone has never helped anyone succeed. The crucial mix of luck, opportunity, and the backing is what makes things work. Pandya has been one of those fortunate players who has got the mix right. His budding career is an example of his talent getting recognised and get used in the right way by the decision makers and leaders.
In Pandya’s case, Kohli has been that guide, mentor, and supporter. The skipper is carefully shaping his the all-rounder’s potential, and the early results are visible greatly. Pandya had the opportunity to share a similar relationship with another star player – Irfan Pathan – during his younger days as a cricketer in the Baroda Ranji side.
Pathan has seen the rise of Pandya first hand and lauded Kohli’s attitude of backing not only Hardik but every youngster in the current team.
“It is great to see players being backed. Sometimes, you always wonder, players, who were not backed enough and could have otherwise had a longer career,” Pathan told PTI during an interaction.
“For any player’s rise, not just Hardik’s, the backing of captain plays a huge role. Kedar (Jadhav) for example was doing fantastically well in domestic cricket for so many years, but he got the backing only under Virat,” said Pathan, who last played for India in 2012.
“Virat is backing all the youngsters, not only one or two. If you have the backing of captain and team management, the player will perform eventually. Rohit (Sharma) got the backing of Mahi bhai (Dhoni) consistently and now look at him, he is now one of the best batsmen in the world,” he said.