Hardik Pandya turns 30: 5 things you still might not know about the all-rounder

Indian ODI team vice-captain Hardik Pandya is celebrating his 30th birthday today (October 11). The all-rounder will be in action in a World Cup match against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium later today.

Hardik Pandya made his international debut in 2016. In his seven-year journey so far, Pandya has witnessed more ups and downs in his career than most other cricketers. From surviving on Maggi to India's top pace-bowling all-rounder to getting suspended for his inappropriate comments, suffering a severe back injury and now being a successful player and leader, Pandya has seen it all.

Many fans would have an idea about the aforementioned details of Hardik's journey. However, here's a list of five things which fans would still not know about the pace-bowling all-rounder:

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#1 Hardik Pandya almost ended up playing for the Lucknow Super Giants

Joining the Gujarat Titans was one of the best sporting decisions made by Pandya. The Ahmedabad-based franchise not only offered him a ₹15 crore contract but also asked him to lead the team. The world had never seen Pandya lead any team before.

In his first season as captain, Pandya led the Gujarat Titans to the championship. On the GK meets GT podcast, the Gujarat captain disclosed that he received an offer from Lucknow Super Giants before Ashish Nehra called him and offered him a chance to lead GT. With KL Rahul present at LSG, Hardik considered that offer seriously, but eventually ended up joining Gujarat.

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#2 Hardik Pandya's father owned 22 cars

Quite a few fans feel that Pandya comes from a poor family. While a part of that statement is true, it is pertinent to note that Hardik's father was not financially weak initially. He had a well-settled business in Surat, which he closed to move to Baroda for the bright future of his sons in cricket. At one point, Hardik's father, Himanshu Pandya, even owned 22 cars.

"The love for cars comes from my dad. At one point, before I was born, he had 22 cars. Long ago my father gave me a Maruti 800, which cost him around Rs 11,000 then," Hardik said in an interview with ESPNCricinfo.

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#3 A couple of cricketers told him to leave Mumbai Indians in 2016

During the same interview with ESPNCricinfo, Pandya disclosed that after his debut for India in 2016, a couple of cricketers told him to leave Mumbai Indians. The players said that Pandya was worth more than ₹10 lakh, the salary which MI paid him.

"I got picked at ten lakhs, right? Next year, a couple of cricketers, I won't name them, came and told me: 'Hardik, you deserve six-seven crores now.' Because I had played for India and I was the only all-rounder going around at that point," Pandya revealed.

Pandya did not listen to them. He continued to play for MI in 2016 and 2017 for ₹10 lakh. In 2018, MI increased his salary to ₹11 crore.

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#4 Hardik Pandya wore his highest individual score as his jersey number initially

Pandya wears jersey number 33 when playing for Gujarat Titans or Team India, but when he first debuted in IPL and international cricket, his jersey number was 228.

It is a lesser-known fact that 228 is Pandya's highest individual score across all formats. He achieved it while playing for Baroda U-16 team against Mumbai in the 2009 Vijay Merchant Trophy.

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#5 Hardik Pandya started his career as a leg-spin bowling all-rounder

In an interview with Cricbuzz in 2015, Hardik Pandya disclosed that he started as a leg-spin bowler. However, his team would not give him enough overs to bowl, which upset him at times. He stopped bowling and only focused on batting for some time.

Pandya tried his hand at seam bowling to help the others in the nets. His Ranji Trophy coach Sanath Kumar saw his fast bowling in the nets and picked him in the team as a fast-bowling all-rounder, and the rest is history.