Hardik Himanshu Pandya is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Baroda in domestic cricket and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. He is an all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm fast-medium. His elder brother Krunal Pandya is also an international cricketer.

 

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Hardik Himanshu Pandya
Nickname	Harry
Profession	Cricketer (All-rounder)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 183 cm in meters- 1.83 m in feet inches- 6’ 0”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Cricket
International Debut	ODI- 16 October 2016 against New Zealand at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India Test- 26 July 2017 against Sri Lanka at Galle, Sri Lanka T20I- 26 January 2016 against Australia at Adelaide, Australia
Jersey Number	#228 (India) #228 (Domestic)
Domestic/State Team	Baroda, Mumbai Indians, Indian Board Presidents XI
Coach/Mentor	Ajay Pawar
Batting Style	Right-handed
Bowling Style	Right-arm fast-medium
Favourite Shot	Straight Drive [1]
Records (main ones)	In 2016, he became the top scorer in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 377 runs and 10 wickets.
Personal Life
Date of Birth	11 October 1993 (Monday)
Age (as of 2020)	27 Years
Birthplace	Choryasi, Surat, Gujarat, India
Zodiac sign	Libra
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Vadodara, Gujarat, India
School	MK High School, Baroda
Educational Qualification	9th standard
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Brahmin
Address	A 6,000-square feet penthouse in an apartment, Diwalipura area, Vadodara
Hobbies	Travelling, Listening to Music
Tattoo(s)	Multiple tattoos on his body
Controversy	In 2019, he, along with KL Rahul, were invited at Karan Johar's talk show 'Koffee with Karan.' The episode stirred controversy due to their sexist comments.
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Engaged
Engagement Date	01-01-2020
Affairs/Girlfriends	Lisha Sharma (Model) Elli AvrRam (Actress) Natasa Stankovic
Family
Finacee	Natasa Stankovic (Serbian actress and model)
Wife/Spouse	N/A
Children	Son- Agastya (born in July 2020) Daughter- None
Parents	Father- Himanshu Pandya (Businessman; died of cardiac arrest on 16 January 2021) Mother- Nalini Pandya
Siblings	Brother- Krunal Pandya (Elder; Cricketer)
Favourite Things
Cricketer	Batsmen- Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh Bowler- Harbhajan Singh
Cricket Ground	Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai
Colour	White
Actor	Akshay Kumar
Actress(es)	Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor
Superhero	Superman
Cuisines	Gujarati
Football Team	Manchester United Football Club
Mobile App	WhatsApp
Style Quotient
Car Collection	• Land Rover Range Rover Vogue • Audi A6
Money Factor
Salary (as in 2018)	Retainer Fees: Rs 50 lakhs Test Match Fees: Rs 15 lakhs ODI Fees: Rs 6 lakhs T20 Fees: Rs 3 lakhs

 

Some Lesser Known Facts About Hardik Pandya

• Does Hardik Pandya smoke?: Yes ^[2]
  

• Does Hardik Pandya drink alcohol?: Yes

• Hardik Pandya hails from modest family background.

   

  

  Hardik Pandya’s childhood picture with his father Himanshu Pandya

• His father is an ardent lover of cricket. During his childhood, his father took him to watch matches in Baroda, after which, he started taking interest in cricket.

• When he was five years old, his family moved from Choryasi, Surat to Gorwa, Baroda and enrolled him in Kiran More International Academy in Baroda, along with his brother, Krunal Pandya, who was seven years old at that time.

• His family lived on lease in Gorwa because of financial issues. They had a second-hand car to travel to the cricket ground.

• Hardik Pandya faced lots of difficulties in his teenage days. His father suffered thrice from the heart attack due to which his father had to quit his job.

   

  

  Hardik Pandya with his father Himanshu Pandya

• He dropped out of school after ninth standard and started focusing on his cricket career.

• Earlier, he used to play as a leg spinner. In one of the local league matches in Baroda, his team was short of one fast bowler. The former Indian cricketer, Kiran More told him to play as fast bowler and he accepted this task immediately. He surprised everyone with his performance by picking seven wickets in that match.  He, then, switched his bowling from leg spinner to medium pacer.

• Kiran More helped him a lot by not charging any fee from him for the first three years in his academy.

• In one of his interviews with the Indian Express, Hardik told that he was removed from his state-age group teams because of his attitude problems. He also said, he was just an expressive child who does not like to hide his emotions.

• He made his T20 debut in 2013 for Baroda against Mumbai. The match was held at Ahmedabad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

• In 2015, John Wright saw great potential in him, so, he selected Pandya in the Mumbai Indians (MI) IPL team at a base price of Rs 10 lakhs.

• In 2016, he got selected to play for the Indian cricket team. He played his first International T20 match against Australia at Adelaide, Australia.

• In 2018, Mumbai Indians bought him at a whopping price of Rs 1 Crore at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

• Hardik Pandya’s favourite tattoo out of which he has got inked on his body is ‘Time is Money’ on his arm.

• He is a close friend of Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan.

   

  

  Hardik Pandya with Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan

• He is often called “West Indian guy from Baroda,” due to his West Indian characteristic and behaviour.

• His best cricketing memory is the last over of India against Bangladesh in 2016 ICC World T20, when Bangladesh needed only 2 runs in 3 balls.

• His teammates fondly call him, Rockstar.

• Hardik Pandya likes to play against Australia.

• He has been featured on the cover of various magazines like Maxim India and The Man.

   

  

  Hardik Pandya on the ‘Maxim India’ magazine cover

• He used to have a crush on Deepika Padukone.

• Hardik Pandya is an avid dog lover.

   

  

  Hardik Pandya loves dogs

• On 1 January 2020, Hardik announced his engagement with the Serbian actress and model, Natasa Stankovic, through his Instagram account.