Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri have backed me a lot: Hardik Pandya

Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is arguably one of the most talented and flamboyant players in India at the moment. His ability to turn the game in the matter of just a few balls makes him stand apart from the others.

However, Hardik's international career hasn't had a great start. He used to concede a lot of runs which had often lend him and the team in trouble. He revealed that during the Australia tour in 2016 in which he made his international debut with T20I in Adelaide, he went on to concede 26 runs off 8 balls and that left him fearing his career.



"I conceded 26 runs from my first 8 balls and frankly thought my career was over. When I was hit for a huge six, almost 105-110m, I thought I was done. I felt it couldn't get worse than this and thankfully I managed to snare a couple of wickets," he said, speaking to Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz in Conversation.

Hardik Pandya who made his international debut under the captaincy of MS Dhoni has played most of his cricket under the leadership of Virat Kohli. Reflecting the beauty of the current Indian team, Hardik said that the current Indian captain and coach have backed him a lot during the tough times.

"I think he (MS Dhoni) wanted me to learn from my own experiences. Virat and Ravi Bhai (Shastri), they have given me that freedom, not just to me, but for everyone in the team. That's the beauty of this current Indian team, we have all made mistakes, but we are also learning at a very rapid pace. Those two have backed me a lot."



While cricket has given Hardik so much to appreciate, he has also had his fair share of criticism because of his off-field behavior. One such incident happened when he along with KL Rahul appeared on the Koffee with Karan show - that saw him being suspended along with Rahul for a few matches. The talented all-rounder has now opened up on the learnings from the incident.

“When that happened, I said to myself let's just accept it and try to correct the mistake. If I would've not accepted that mistake, that part would have still been in me. That phase does not bother me anymore because my family has accepted it,” he said.

Hardik, calling himself a family guy, said that his family is his backbone and without them, his existence holds no importance. He also revealed that after the Koffee with Karan controversy, his family got abused which hurt him the most.



“I'm a family guy. Without family, I am no one. My family is my backbone. The Hardik Pandya you're seeing right now is because of the people behind the scenes, looking after me. They make sure that I am mentally stable and I stay happy".

“My family got abused. My father gave an interview post the incident and people made a mockery of it. What hurt me the most was my action caused my family problems, and that's not acceptable,” Hardik said.

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