Hardik Pandya, a star all-arounder for India, said on Wednesday that legendary wicketkeeper MS Dhoni was a major influence on his development. Hardik Pandya has received a lot of praise this year, whether it be for his outstanding performance with bat and ball or his leadership in leading Gujarat Titans to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) championship in their first season.

“I was just a fresh-faced kid eager to discover new things about sports and life. MS Dhoni has been very important to my development. I used to watch him whenever I had the chance to learn from him”

Pandya stated on Star Sports

“The kind of mindset and knowledge he had, just observing it, has reflected in my personality on the field,”

he added

Pandya claimed that he has always desired accountability since taking ownership of anything makes it more meaningful to him.

“It was about owning my mistakes, taking my chances, failing and learning from them. Sometimes, it is failures that teach you, not your closest confid, not your aid and to a good extent even Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni). Some failures, you just experience and you learn from them,”

he added

Pandya stated that his failures helped him identify the jobs he was strong in and how he might improve in each of them. The talented all-rounder, who will turn 29 in October, claimed that the past four years have been the most significant of his life.

“You might go to a restaurant, the food could be amazing but if there is no finishing touch, it does not add the charm to the dish no matter how it tastes. The look of it matters. It is similar in the game, no matter how close you come, how well-poised you are, how strong you are, when you do not get finishing touches from your lower order or finisher, it does not look complete,”

he said

After coping with fitness difficulties throughout the years, Pandya returned to his fully fit avatar in 2022 and led Gujarat Titans to their first India Premier League (IPL) championship in their first season. Pandya led his team from the front throughout the entire season, scoring 487 runs at an average of 44.27 in 15 games, while also hitting four fifty-plus runs. In addition, he claimed eight wickets for his team, including a game-winning 3/17 in the championship.

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Since then, he has played numerous vital runs for India in T20Is and displayed great form, whether bowling as an anchor or an aggressor. Pandya has scored 314 runs in T20Is this season, averaging 34.88 runs over 13 innings in 14 games. He has made several significant runs, including one half-century.