Hardik Pandya came into the national team for the T20 World Cup 2016 after a great IPL season in 2015 (and I cannot express in words how much I hated him, but that's beside the point).
He was crazy and arrogant. He was up to mad stunts all the time on the field, ably aided by Virat. His first international overs had so many wide balls I had had to switch off the TV.
His first dealings with pressure came in the do or die match against Bangladesh in that World Cup. I still remember his nervous smile before the last ball, where Dhoni pulled off the most brilliant run out of all times and won it for us.
He only grew as a cricketer. In the Champions Trophy final 2017 against Pakistan, his knock was the sole ray of light. When Jaddu ran him out, he reacted in an ugly manner. Yes, he was immature. He'd not learnt to reign in his emotions.
But India had found a fighter.
In 2018, he got into Tests properly and played a priceless knock on a difficult South African pitch where all other batsmen failed. Then India knew this guy isn't just for the shortest and flashiest format of the game, you know?
But eventually a couple of injures had forced him out of the team, and after the pandemic, he had to find his way back into the team with a magnificent series against Australia in Australia, where I find the highlight of his career: giving away his Man of the Series trophy to Natarajan.
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It was the moment we knew he had grown up. He was no longer the goofy crazy kid we'd seen the past half-decade. It doesn't mean we had to like the change (I didn't, much), but the fact remains that he'd grown up, enough to be a 'senior', enough to be the captain of an IPL team, the vice-captain of a national team.
You're priceless in the team, Hardik Pandya. Once before, you tried and failed to win us an impossible final.
