India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has claimed that former men’s team captain MS Dhoni has played a big role in his growth as a cricketer.
2022 has been a year to remember for Pandya, as he started it off by guiding Gujarat Titan to the IPL 2022 title in their maiden season. He carried his form into the national side and has proved to be a match-winner for the team with both bat and ball.
The 28-year-old was in sublime touch in the Asia Cup 2022 opener against Pakistan as he shone in both bowling and batting and guided India to a memorable win over their arch-rivals.
Speaking to Star Sports ahead of the clash against Hong Kong, Pandya said that Dhoni has played a big role in his growth and whenever he got the opportunity, he used it to observe the former India skipper and learn things from him.
“I was just a new kid trying to learn new things about life and sport. MS Dhoni has played a big role in my growth. Whenever I got an opportunity, I used to observe him and learn things. The kind of mindset and knowledge he had, just observing it, it has reflected in my personality on the field.”
“It was about owning my mistakes, taking my chances, failing and learning from them. Sometimes, it is failures that teaches you, not your closest confide, not your aid and to a good extent even Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni). Some failures, you just experience and you learn from them,” said Pandya.
The India all-rounder also opened up about the art of finishing a game of cricket and said that the match doesn’t look complete without contributions from the lower order or the finisher.
“You might go to a restaurant, the food could be amazing but if there is no finishing touch, it does not add the charm to the dish no matter how it tastes. The look of it matters. It is similar in the game, no matter how close you come, how well-poised you are, how strong you are, when you do not get finishing touches from your lower order or finisher, it does not look complete,” said Pandya.
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