Flamboyant Indian all-rounder and Gujarat Titans’ skipper Hardik Pandya is known for his aggressive style of batting, his sharp fielding skills, and his effective medium-fast bowling.
Often regarded as ‘Kung-Fu Panda’ by his teammates, the right-handed batsman has shown his mettle both on and off the field over the years, besides turning eyeballs for his unique hairstyles, fashion, and love for luxuries; that at one point of his life, he wouldn’t have imagined that he’d be able to own one day.
With the IPL season around the corner, in this article, we rewind the clock, and bring to you a ‘rags to riches’ story that created one of the most inspiring cricketers and the potential captain of the Indian national cricket team.
Hardik Pandya’s Childhood
As per the man himself, he comes from a well-off family, as his father, Himanshu Pandya used to own a small car finance business. Being a cricket fanatic himself, he identified the hidden international cricketers inside his two sons and encouraged the duo to pursue their sporting career seriously. Himanshu shut down his business and moved to Vadodara to support the training of his sons.
Everything was going well until the family suffered a financial crisis and were down and out; a period of time that forged Hardik Pandya – a player with “never say die” attitude.
The Rock Bottom
To support his family in Vadodara, Pandya’s father took up odd jobs. The family was already struggling when Hardik’s father suffered two heart attacks in a single night. Six months later, he had another heart attack, causing great fear for his family. Fortunately, he received timely medical attention that saved his life.
After these incidents, Hardik and his brother Krunal’s lives changed completely. Their family faced a severe financial crisis, and the fear of losing their father haunted them every day.
For a period of three years, the brothers struggled to even save Rs 5-10, often spending days on the field, playing in different tournaments to earn bread for their family.
The Bounce Back
Having fought against all the hardships and making a name for himself in domestic cricket, the hard hours that Pandya had put in finally paid off when he was selected by Mumbai Indians in 2015.
Post season, the all-rounder received a Rs 50 lakh cheque, which was a major turnaround in his personal life. Lad went from having not enough to eat on his table, struggling to make ends meet to having Rs 50 lakh in his bank account in just a span of 3 months.
The cricketer had once revealed that with this money, he had freed his car, which he and his brother Krunal were hiding from the bank as they were not able to pay the EMIs.
Hardik Pandya’s Net Worth
The Gujarat Titans skipper