Opinion: Hardik Pandya's off-field antics should not define him as a cricketer

Hardik Pandya's rise to fame is a very inspiring one. The way he worked tirelessly day in and day out, his only focus - to play for the national team. After a point of time you cannot ignore his presence, the kind of personality he is, the energetic vibes he bring to the surroundings is marvellous.

But, having seen the Koffee with Karan episode, it gives an impression that he is really getting carried away by the success and the fame and money that it is has bought him. The kind of lifestyle he is leading speaks a lot.

After the fiasco, Pandya went ahead and apologized publicly to the board and regretted his actions. That should have been the end of story.

Cricketing talent cannot be ignored in a country like India. That's exactly what got Pandya to where he is but when people feel it is being misused, they are not going to sit quiet. Many felt that BCCI was overreacted to the situation but we must face it, that's the life of a cricket star in a cricket loving nation like India.

And if you see he hasn't lost focus in the way he's playing. Even after the TV incident, he has come back to the team with same enthusiasm as we saw his performance in his first outing since the ban, his brilliant 2/45 helped in the team's winning cause and in the 5th ODI when India were at 190/6, he scored a quick fire 45 off 22 and helped India reach a respectable total of 253.

He is a gifted cricketer and contributed immensely to the country. He is an inspiration to millions of the aspiring youth and the way he has conducted himself on the field deserves every bit of it.

So having Hardik in your team is definitely a boon because of the depth he brings in all the three aspects of batting, bowling and fielding and although he may behaving in a way that many have objection to, he is delivering with bat and the ball when required, so we cannot actually point fingers at him.