The Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya is certainly one of the finest all-rounders who have played for team India and he has proved this statement correct with his performances on various occasions.
In the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024, he helped team India in winning the trophy by taking 3 wickets in the final match against South Africa and now he has been declared the number one all-rounder in the world as per the ICC rankings. This is the first time that any Indian cricketer has been ranked as number one all-rounder and this is certainly a big achievement.
Hardik Pandya went to the T20 World Cup 2024 after having a disappointing IPL 2024 as his team Mumbai Indians finished at the bottom of the points table. Moreover, Hardik Pandya was traded by MI from Gujarat Titans and he replaced Rohit Sharma as the new skipper of the team which didn’t go well with MI fans and they booed him in every match.
However, Hardik Pandya remained silent, he kept smiling but he was determined to perform well for India and at the end of the tournament, he had 11 wickets with 144 runs. He didn’t say anything throughout the tournament but after India won the finals, he was emotional and he talked about what he went through in the last 2-3 months.
Though the former South African cricketer AB de Villiers was very upset as the Indian team defeated South Africa in the finals, he was still full of praises for Hardik Pandya and he gave a message for all the MI fans who doubted the MI skipper.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers said, “What stands out for me are the big moments. A guy like Hardik Pandya who’s been through a roller-coaster himself with Mumbai Indians – moving from Gujarat to Mumbai – and all the criticism he coped with, getting the ball from the captain in the final of the T20 World Cup. That was his moment to go like, ‘You know what… all Indian fans out there, this is what I am about as a cricket player’.”
AB de Villiers further said, “He made everyone proud out there. Even though I did not want him to succeed like that, I look back and have a lot of respect for that. He is a big man for a big moment and that’s exactly the way he played. To all you Mumbai Indians fans out there who doubted him, I’m pretty sure he has secured a spot in your hearts for the future.”
Here is the YouTube video of AB de Villiers in which you can hear him talking about many other things as well:
Well, MI fans must be feeling bad for their behaviour, what do you say?
