Hardik Pandya’s grand homecoming
All-rounder Hardik Pandya attended a road show where he was seen waving at a sea of fans from the top of an open bus
Hardik Pandya on Monday received a rousing reception on his arrival in Baroda. The ace Indian all-rounder, who was in Mumbai since returning from the West Indies with the T20 World Cup trophy, was given a hero’s welcome on his homecoming as around 3.5 lakh people gathered in large numbers to cheer for the Team India star.
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In a video shared by PTI on microblogging site X, Pandya attended a road show where he was seen waving at a sea of fans from the top of an open bus. According to InsideSports, the organizers aimed to create a crowd similar to what was witnessed at Marine Drive in Mumbai on July 4.
The all-rounder also shared a video on his Instagram profile, capturing the crowd of nearly 3.5 lakh people who gathered on the streets of Baroda to welcome the World Champion.
“Thank you,” wrote Pandya on Instagram.
Pandya played a crucial role in the T20 World Cup 2024 final, picking up the crucial wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller. He finished the tournament with 144 runs at a batting strike rate of over 150 and 11 wickets.
A freak ankle injury in the last year’s ODI World Cup, against Bangladesh, ruled him out of the entire tournament. After a thorough rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), he returned to action in the IPL 2024 but his new role as Mumbai Indians’ captain wasn’t liked by the fans. He was booed at stadiums and faced flack on social media but kept smiling all the way.
Pandya turned the wind with his exemplary performance in the recently-concluded World Cup, helping India to lift the trophy after 17 years. Impressed with his contribution to India’s glory, the fans in Mumbai were overwhelmed, chanting his name at Wankhede during the team’s felicitation ceremony on July 4.
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No.1 Ranked T20I All-rounder
Days after India’s historic triumph in Barbados, Pandya became the first Indian cricketer to reach the No. 1 position in the ICC T20I all-rounder’s ranking. He jumped two places to take the top spot with 222 rating points.
Hardik is overall the sixth Indian cricketer to reach the No. 1 position in the T20I rankings after Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravi Bishnoi. While Gambhir, Kohli, and Surya have topped the batters list in the past, Bumrah and Bishnoi are the only two Indian bowlers to reach the top-most rank.
