Hardik Pandya's impressive ODI debut

Baroda all-rounder Hardik Pandya was handed his ODI debut in the first ODI of the India – New Zealand ODI series by none other than Kapil Dev. The one quality that separates Pandya from other players of his age is his immense self – belief. The youngster doesn’t let pressure affect his game, instead, he relishes it and likes to deliver in such situations.

A clean hitter of the ball and a fast bowler with commendable pace, he ticks all the right boxes that a team expects from an all–rounder. The sturdy Baroda pacer has had quite a career graph till now, being just 23 years of age, he is sure to have a bright future ahead of him and may even prove himself to be a fast-bowling all–rounder that India has dearly missed since Irfan Pathan was sidelined by injuries.

Pandya made his debut for Baroda at the age of 19 in the 2012 – 13 season. He played a vital role in Baroda securing the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament in the 2013–14 season. His immense talent first came to the fore in the opening match against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium.

He walked in to bat with Baroda struggling at 20/2 and scored a 57 – ball – 82* to turn the match around facing the likes of Zaheer Khan, Dhawal Kulkarni and Pravin Tambe. Luckily for him, he had Mumbai Indians coach John Wright in attendance at the venue along with the whole MI think–tank.

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The innings intrigued Wright very much and he came back to watch the youngster’s next match against Gujarat. Pandya did not disappoint and presented a commendable performance with both bat and the ball, scoring a useful 37-run inning and later finishing with a figure of 4-1-7-3. Subsequently, in the next IPL auction, Mumbai Indians bought him for Rs. 10 lakhs.

He is an example of what is sometimes referred to as the ‘IPL breed’, the ones brought into the limelight by the IPL. IPL started a new chapter in his life. Known for his clean hitting, he quickly made a name for himself in IPL with his sweet and clean stroke making, playing livewire in the field and having a more than useful hand at bowling.

A quick-fire 21 off 8 balls and then engulfing 3 important catches in a match against CSK, in which he went on to win the Man of the Match award, pushed him into the focus that was needed to attract selectors’ attention. Later on, he played a match–winning innings of 61 from 31 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in a do or die match to win it for Mumbai Indians and grab his second Man of the Match award of the season.

Sachin was quick to notice his talent and he assured Pandya of a national call–up within 18 months if he kept up the good work. In January 2016, he slammed eight sixes to score 86 against Vidarbha to coast his team to a six-wicket win.

Within a year of that, he got a call from the Indian selectors ahead of the 2016 Asia Cup. He debuted for India at 22 years of age against Australia, picking up 2 wickets in the match, where Kohli stole the limelight with a 90-run innings.

In the Asia Cup 2016, he kept the performances coming. First an 18-ball 31 to help India to a respectable score against Bangladesh and then taking a wicket to secure the win, he pulled off his career-best figure of 3 for 8 against Pakistan to cement his place in the T20 squad. In the T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh, he took 2 wickets in the last 3 balls to win a crucial game by 1 run. In the next match against Australia, he ended with figures of 2 for 36, justifying his selection in the squad.

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He was a part of the India A squad that won the quadrangular series in Australia and in the aftermath of the events, he was picked for the ODI series against New Zealand. Hardik justified his selection with figures of 3 for 31 in the 7 overs. Skipper MS Dhoni decided to start the bowling with him and he went for 3 fours in his first over giving away 13 runs in 5 balls but came back strongly to get Guptill’s wicket.

Later on, he produced 2 more wickets displaying a very disciplined bowling effort and the performance earned him the Man of the Match award. His ODI debut could not have been any better, receiving his cap from the great Kapil Dev and a MoM award to top it off. After the match Pandya said, ”Getting a MoM award on debut is something very special” and he also added, “Getting the ODI cap from Kapil Dev is something that I will cherish in my life.” Such a blistering debut is an indication of a star in the making.

Written by Soumyadeep Chatterjee