'A lot of people said a lot of things without knowing who Hardik Pandya is'

BRIDGETOWN (Barbados): Hardik Pandya has been to hell and back in the last few months. An injury cut short a promising ODI World Cup campaign and that eventually cost him his T20 captaincy as well. It was followed by a disastrous move to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans in the IPL, replacing Rohit Sharma as the captain, which wasn’t too well received by fans.His form, too, took a nosedive and there was a clamour to drop him from the T20 World Cup squad.
The BCCI and captain Rohit, however, felt Hardik had done enough to get a chance. He was included to add depth to a lineup both in batting and bowling. It was ironic that he was left to bowl the last over with 16 to play with in the final, but Hardik rose to the occasion and got the job done.

WISH TEAM INDIA

He also got the wicket of the super-dangerous Heinrich Klaasen that actually started South Africa’s downfall.
During a chat with the media after the game, Hardik talked about what he had endured, how he fought back and what was going through his mind when he was bowling the last over.
Excerpts....
How do you feel about this win, in which you had such a crucial role to play?
It is obviously very special. From where I come from, this is something that is always a dream and it is a feeling that I can’t describe, more so when I knew that everything came down to me at the end. I am just very happy for the group.
You have gone through a lot in these last few months. A lot has been said about you as well...
Yes, a lot of people said a lot of things without knowing who Hardik Pandya is. Everyone had an opinion and I don’t mind that, but I have always maintained that you never reply with words. You can only answer with your actions. Yes, there were difficulties but I knew that I won’t be down always. I believe it is important to be graceful in victory and in defeat, and I tried to maintain that. Only thing I want to tell the fans is that they, too, should learn to be graceful, at times they should also find better ways to express themselves. Anyway, I am sure they will also be happy today.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have retired. You may well become the next T20 captain. How do you see things looking forward to the 2026 World Cup?
2026 is far off. For now, I am very happy for Rohit and Virat, two giants of Indian cricket who deserve every bit of the success. We will obviously miss them in the format but at the same time, this is probably the best farewell that we could have given them. This victory is a tribute to the brotherhood that has been created in the team.
What was going through your mind when you came to bowl the last over?
I think I was enjoying it. Not too many people get such chances which can change their lives. Things might have gone the other way, but it didn’t bother me. I knew there was no point taking pressure, I just tried to bank on my skillset. I think it was written in the stars. I have always tried to keep smiling through the difficulties and I can assure you this is going to be a very long smile.
You shone both as a batter and a bowler in different phases of this World Cup...
Now that we have won, I feel that even if I hadn’t scored, it wouldn’t have mattered. Individual performances don’t matter when the team doesn’t win. But whenever I got the chance, I was happy that I could contribute something to the team’s cause. I have always played my cricket that way. If it is one over, I try to do it to the best of my ability