Gujarat Titans

India A

Baroda

India

Mumbai Indians

<h3>Introduction:</h3>
<p>From an ordinary Baroda boy to a bankable all-rounder for the Indian cricket team, Hardik Pandya has come a long way. He was born in Choryasi, Surat, Gujarat on October 11, 1993, and is the youngest son of Himanshu Pandya and Nalini Pandya. His father used to run a small car finance business in Surat, but to provide better cricket training facilities to his sons Hardik and Krunal Pandya (Hardik’s elder brother), he closed his small firm and moved to Vadodara. As Pandya belonged to a financially-weak, middle-class family, he used to live in a rented apartment in Gorwa, and used to travel to the cricket ground in a second-hand car.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Hardik Pandya's&nbsp;Career Information</h3>
<p><strong>Test Debut: </strong>Sri Lanka vs India at Galle International Stadium, July 26, 2017<br><strong>ODI Debut:</strong> India vs New Zealand at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, October 16, 2016<br><strong>T20I Debut:</strong> Australia vs India at Adelaide Oval, January 26, 2016</p>
<h4>Domestic Career:</h4>
<p>In March 2013, Pandya made his debut in domestic cricket for Baroda against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2012-13. He debuted in first-class cricket in November against Madhya Pradesh in the 2013-14 edition of the Ranji Trophy. In April 2014, Baroda won their second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title routing Uttar Pradesh in the final. Playing his second season of the tournament, Pandya played a crucial role in making his team champions with his impressive show as an all-rounder.</p>
<h4>Amazing T20 International Career:</h4>
<p>Pandya marked his international debut in Australia in a three-match T20 series against the hosts in 2016. In the crucial second match, Pandya clinched dangerous Chris Lynn’s wicket and contributed to the team’s comfortable victory to take an unassailable lead. After the Australia tour, Pandya appeared in the 2016 Asia Cup. For the all-rounder, the continental tournament went well as he showcased his all-round talent against teams such as Bangladesh and Pakistan. Facing the arch-rivals for the first time, Pandya looked exceptional with the ball, picking 3/8 figures. After showing his strength in a couple of major tournaments, he got selected for the colossal 2016 T20 World Cup and became the leading wicket-taker for India along with Ashish Nehra.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In July 2018, he registered his second-best T20I bowling figures (4/38) against England at Gloucestershire Cricket Stadium and helped the team to win a maiden T20 International series in England. On February 1, 2023, he led the team from the front, bagging 4/16 figures against New Zealand.</p>
<h4>Scintillating One-Day International Journey So Far:</h4>
<p>In October 2016, Pandya broke into one-day internationals (ODIs) in a home series against New Zealand. At HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, he made the game for India with his 3/31 figures with the ball. After the game, he also won the Player of the Match award for his scintillating bowling display. On June 18, 2017, Pandya drew attention due to his fierce batting as he hit 76 runs off just 43 deliveries in the high-voltage Champions Trophy final against Pakistan.&nbsp;</p>
<p>After serving India for more than two and a half years, Pandya went to England with the squad to participate in the 2019 World Cup. In the mega event, Pandya came out as a vital cog for the team due to his incredible all-round talent.&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Shambolic Test Campaign:</h4>
<p>Like the limited-over forms of the game, Pandya couldn’t be effective for India in red-ball cricket. However, he started his Test career with fine batting performances in his debut series in Sri Lanka. Against the islanders, he scored a maiden ton in the final Test at Pallekele and achieved the record for becoming the first Indian batter to score a century before lunch.</p>
<p>In 2018, he toured England for the five-game Test series and struggled with both bat and ball. Witnessing his dismal show in the competition, In 2021, he couldn’t find a spot in India’s team for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-match Test tour of England.</p>
<h4>Indian Premier League Career:</h4>
<p>In February 2015, the Baroda all-rounder became a part of Mumbai Indians (MI) at INR 10 lakh at the mini-auction and appeared in his first season of the <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Premier League (IPL)</a></strong> held in April-May 2015. In the do-or-die contest against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he emerged as the Player of the Match with his match-winning knock of 61 runs off 31 deliveries.</p>
<p>The swashbuckling player’s best innings came in 2019 as he smashed 91 runs off 34 deliveries against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at iconic <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/eden-gardens-kolkata-history-stadium-capacity-stands-stats-trivia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eden Gardens</a></strong> in a losing cause. After serving MI for seven seasons in the league, Hardik joined Gujarat Titans (GT) and won them their maiden title in their debut season with his captaincy skills and batting talent.</p>
<h3><b id="docs-internal-guid-16c91fce-7fff-cd89-bc0f-c9095318dff7"><span>Hardik Pandya's </span></b>Personal Life:</h3>
<p>On January 1, 2020, Pandya got engaged to an India-based Serbian model Natasa Stankovic in Dubai. Later in July 2020, the spunky India batting all-rounder started new innings in his life as his partner Natasa gave birth to a baby boy, who got the name Agastya.</p>

Hardik Pandya News: Check out the latest news and updates on Hardik Pandya along with photos, videos, biography, career stats, and more on CricTracker.

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Delhi

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>India cricket supporters have witnessed many great players, but few greater than Virat Kohli, who has reigned supreme in the cricket world with his incredible batting talent. Born on November 5, 1988, in Delhi to Prem Kohli, a criminal lawyer, and Saroj Kohli, a housewife, Kohli joined West Delhi Cricket Academy in 1998 and got trained under his coach Rajkumar Sharma.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Career Information</h3>
<p><strong>Test Debut:</strong> West Indies vs India at Kingston, June 20-23, 2011</p>
<p><strong>ODI Debut:</strong> Sri Lanka vs India at Dambulla, August 18, 2008</p>
<p><strong>T20I Debut: </strong>Zimbabwe vs India at Harare, June 12, 2010</p>
<p><strong>IPL Debut:</strong> Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, April 18, 2008</p>
<p>In 2006, Kohli made his List A debut for Delhi against Services at the age of 17. In November 2006, at 18, he made his maiden appearance in first-class cricket for his state. However, in 2008, he grabbed eyeballs as he led the India Under-19 team from the front to a title triumph in the <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cwc-cricket-world-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Cup</a>.</strong></p>
<h3>International Debut:</h3>
<p>Following his impressive show for the junior side in the Under-19 World Cup, Kohli got selected in the ODI team for the Sri Lanka tour in 2008. On August 18, 2008, 19-year-old Kohli made his international debut in the first ODI against Sri Lanka and opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir. He was dismissed on 12 runs in his maiden international game.</p>
<h3>Earning a spot in the national squad:</h3>
<p>In 2010, the Indian team management backed Kohli despite his struggle with the bat in the back-to-back series. However, in the three-match ODI series against Australia at home, he notched up a century and earned the Player of the Match award in the second match in Visakhapatnam. During the home ODI series against New Zealand, Kohli hit a crucial match-winning century in the first game in Guwahati.</p>
<p>Appearing in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, Kohli’s crucial 83-run stand with Gautam Gambhir helped India in a memorable triumph. In June 2011, Kohli received a Test cap as he made his first appearance in the longest format of the game in the first match against the West Indies in Kingston.</p>
<p>In December 2011, he went to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and emerged as the leading run-scorer for India. Playing the final game at the Adelaide Oval, he also scored his maiden century against the Aussies. In 2012, Kohli won the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award after becoming the top scorer in 2011.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Captaincy Career:</h3>
<p>In the absence of the regular skipper <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/ms-dhoni" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MS Dhoni</a></strong>, due to an injury, Kohli captained the side in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2014-15. On the bouncy track of Adelaide Oval, he exuded confidence as a batter with his twin centuries (115 and 141)..&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the second innings, Kohli’s elegant innings gave the Aussies a headache as the visitors looked set to chase 364 with ease before a dramatic batting collapse. India lost the distinguished four-match Test competition by a 2-0 margin but for Kohli, it was a perfect series as he became the leading run-scorer for India, scoring 692 runs with four centuries and a half-century in eight innings.&nbsp;</p>
<p>After MS Dhoni’s retirement from Test cricket in December 2014, Kohli got the reins of the Test captaincy. From 2015-17, the Indian Test team looked in magnificent form under him. Thrashing the quality teams such as South Africa, New Zealand, England, and Australia, India became a dominant side at home.</p>
<p>After leading India for 10 years in white-ball cricket, MS Dhoni stepped down as a skipper. Filling the shoes of the veteran, Kohli took the mantle of captaincy with the three-match ODI series against England at home. Leading the ODI team for the first time as a full-time skipper, he secured a 2-1 win against the visitors.&nbsp;</p>
<p>As an ODI captain, Kohli faced one of the major blows in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 as India got hammered by the arch-rivals Pakistan in the final. However, after the infamous defeat, he created history with his captaincy skills as the Indian team achieved immense success not only at home but also overseas. In February 2018, Kohli and his men pummelled the Proteas by a 5-1 margin and tasted their maiden ODI series win in South Africa.</p>
<p>In 2018-19, India achieved success in winning a Test series in Australia for the first time. After more than two years of the spectacular journey under the veteran’s leadership, India played some brilliant cricket in the 2019 World Cup as well. However, New Zealand handed an 18-run defeat to the Men in Blue in the semi-final and shattered their dream of lifting the trophy.</p>
<p>During his captaincy stint, Kohli came under fierce criticism for not winning any major trophies for the nation. In 2021, the ICC Test Championship final loss and the embarrassing <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20-world-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>T20 World Cup</strong></a> campaign made the matter worse. After the T20 World Cup 2021, he relinquished the shortest format’s captaincy. In January 2022, Kohli stepped down as India’s captain from ODI and Tests as well.</p>
<h3>IPL Career:</h3>
<p>In 2008, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) roped in Virat Kohli for INR 12 lakh at the auction. &nbsp;Since the maiden season of the tournament, he has been a vital cog in the team due to his incredible batting potential. After serving the franchise efficiently for five seasons, he got the captaincy mantle in 2013. In 2016, Kohli had the best <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPL</a></strong> season as he looked effective with the bat, becoming the highest run-scorer in the competition with a record 973 runs in the season, including four centuries.. However, with captaincy, he couldn’t help the team to win their maiden title losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final. In 2021, he left the captaincy after leading the franchise for nine seasons.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Virat Kohli Personal Life:</h3>
<p>In 2013, Virat Kohli started dating Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma. His relationship with the diva got a lot of media attention. On December 11, 2017, both got married in a private ceremony in Florence, Italy. After more than three years of marriage, the couple became parents as they welcomed a daughter, Vamika, in Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital.</p>

Virat Kohli News: Check out the latest news and updates on Virat Kohli along with photos, videos, biography, career stats, family, lifestyle, and more on CricTracker.

Hardik Pandya

India

Virat Kohli

India

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