Hardik Pandya IPL Profile

Hardik Pandya is India all-rounder, who was born on October 11 1993, in Choryasi, Surat, Gujarat. Pandya, a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler, is widely popular for his exceptional all-round skills that includes powerfull hitting, 140-plus pace bowling and athletic fielding. 

Hardik began his IPL career in 2015 with the Mumbai Indians, where he remained associated till 2021. He became the skipper of new franchise Gujarat Titans in 2022 edition. In addition to his prowess in all forms of cricket, he garnered accolades for several of his IPL achievements. 

He first gained attention in IPL with an unbeaten 31-ball 61 for Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2015. The dynamic all-rounder led Gujarat Titans to their first IPL in their inaugural season in 2022 and became the first captain after late cricketer Shane Warne to captain a franchise to the IPL title in the debut season.

Hardik made his debut for India in a T20 match against Australia in 2016 after doing well at the IPL. Hardik played his first international ODI match on October 16 2016, against New Zealand and was awarded Man of the Match. With this, Pandya joined Sandeep Patil, Mohit Sharma, and KL Rahul as the fourth Indian to win player of the match awards on their ODI debuts. He was also named the T20 captain of India after Rohit Sharma was taken off the role following India's 2022 T20 World Cup loss in Australia. He is touted to be the next captain of India in the white-ball format as he is currently the vice-captain of the national team in the ODI format as well. 

On January 1, 2020, Hardik Pandya got engaged to his fiancée Natasha Stankovic and the couple has a son, Agastya Pandya. On February 14 2023, Hardik and Natasha exchanged marriage vows through a Christian wedding ceremony in Udaipur, Rajasthan. 

Pandya's elder brother Krunal Pandya is also an international cricketer and played with him for Mumbai Indians in the past before getting purchased by Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 Auction. 

Hardik infamously appeared on a popular TV show, where his remarks on his personal sexual life didn't sit well with the audience, leading to his and fellow teammate KL Rahul's, who was also present at the show, ouster from the national team. Apart from that, he was also sidelined from the team due to a prolonged back injury, which kept him away from bowling amid speculation of premature end to what has been expected to be a glittering career.