Mumbai Indians acquired the services of a young budding cricketer from Baroda’s cricketing circles named, Hardik Pandya at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 auction for INR 10 lakh. By then, the Choryasi-born had displayed his batting might in the domestic circuit and was handy with his medium pace. However, hardly anyone would have anticipated that he would emerge as one of the superstars of the game.
Throughout his IPL career, Hardik has put up an exhibition of his flamboyant stroke play and has dismantled bowling attacks for fun. When on song, he can take down even the best of bowlers which he has done in the past to establish his supremacy in the IPL arena. Further, the Indian all-rounder has been impeccable with the ball too, providing timely breakthroughs to his side.
However, it was not easy for Hardik to find his feet in the lucrative T20 tournament. In his debut IPL season, the right-handed batter played a few eye-catching knocks but was quite inconsistent with his showings and scored just 112 runs in nine games. Then in the 2016 season, he had a horror show with the bat and could only manage 44 runs in 11 matches. Moreover, he also failed to have much impact with the ball in his first two editions.
Despite his failures, Mumbai Indians showed belief in Hardik and backed him to come good in the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League. The Indian all-rounder repaid the faith of the franchise and put up a show with the bat. He hammered 250 runs in 17 matches at a stunning strike rate of 156.25, which consists of 20 maximums. Also, he took six wickets at an economy of 8.19. Pandya’s exploits were instrumental in Mumbai grabbing the silverware that year.
Then in the 2018 season, Hardik took the marquee tournament by storm with his all-round exploits. He featured in 13 matches and smashed 260 runs at a strike rate of 133.33. On the bowling front, the flamboyant cricketer took 18 wickets in those outings at an economy of 8.92.
Hardik came to his own might in IPL 2019 and was one of the chief architects of Mumbai’s fourth title triumph. He knocked the wind out of bowling attacks that came his way and blasted 402 runs in 16 games at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 191.42, which includes a blistering knock of 91 runs off 34 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 47th match of the competition. Also, the ace all-rounder was sensational with the ball and picked up 14 wickets at an economy of 9.17.
Hardik carried on his good work for the Mumbai franchise in the 13th edition of the cash-rich league and plundered 281 runs in 14 matches at an astonishing strike rate of 178.98. However, he did not bowl due to a back injury. The star all-rounder was again used as a proper batter in the next season to manage his workload but he had a mediocre outing and could only manage 127 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 113.39.
Hardik was crucial to Mumbai’s success in the T20 extravaganza. However, the five-time IPL champions also had top-drawer players like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, and Suryakumar Yadav in their ranks. And with a cloud over Pandya’s fitness, the team management decided against retaining him for the 2022 season and picked the quartet.
Ahead of the 2022 mega auction, Gujarat Titans selected Hardik as their number one draft pick and also handed him the reins of the side. The Indian all-rounder had no experience of captaining a team on the big stage and thus, Gujarat’s ploy raised a lot of eyebrows. But what followed was quite remarkable.
Hardik displayed brilliant leadership skills and shepherded Gujarat to an IPL triumph in their debut season itself. He was phenomenal with the bat and ended the marquee event as GT’s leading run-getter, with 487 runs to his name in 15 matches at an economy of 131.27. Also, he played the role of the sixth bowler when needed and chipped in with eight wickets at an economy of 7.28, which consists of an incredible three-wicket haul in the summit clash against Rajasthan Royals.
Hardik, with his breathtaking performances, has made the Indian Premier League his happy hunting ground. During his glorious IPL career thus far, there have been many times when the ace all-rounder has written his name in history books with his exploits on the cricket field.
Let us look at the accolades Hardik Pandya has achieved in the IPL:
| Sr. no | Record |
| 1 | 2nd most IPL titles(5) as player and captain |
| 2 | won the trophy as skipper debut season (2022) for GT and the second Indian to have achieved this feat |
| 3 | 3rd the most catches for Mumbai Indians(53) |
| 4 | Highest strike for Mumbai Indians(153.91) |
| 5 | Quickest Indian to smash 100 sixes in IPL (1046 balls) |
| 6 | 3rd most sixes for Mumbai Indians (98) |
| 7 | First Indian all-rounder to score 400 runs and picked more than 10 wickets in a season (2019) |
| 8 | 2nd captain to get Player of the Match award in IPL finals (for winning side) |
| 9 | Most 50+ scores for GT (4) |
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