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Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya reflected on completing 10 years in international cricket, saying that it is "merely the beginning" and he is only "getting started on the path I truly wish to walk".
Hardik made his international debut against Australia in an ODI at Adelaide on the Republic Day in 2016. Taking to Instagram, Hardik wrote, "10 years of this journey, the year I turn 33. It is one thing to play the sport I love with all my heart, and it is another to be able to serve my country through it. I love you all, thank you for everything. Thankyou god for the trials and tribulations that got me here... The chances that so many people took... The opportunity to live this life." https://www.instagram.com/p/DT-sGBOkmay/?hl=en "This year has taught me that this is merely the beginning... I am only just getting started on the path I truly wish to walk." Hardik also said that if he may look back at a "young Hardik running an extra few miles to get to play from Baroda - a batsman bowling extra balls in the nets to bowlers who never got to practice batting, becoming an all rounder at 19, and from getting noticed and getting rejected" - getting to play for my desh has been the most worthwhile journey for me". "God had great plans for me when he let me debut on the 26th of January. I have become a man while playing this sport, and I will grow old playing it too," he concluded. Since his debut, Hardik has been a contributor to India's white-ball success and has won the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy with the Men in Blue, delivering clutch performances in crucial matches over the years. His best performance came during the 2024 T20 WC in which he scored 144 runs in six innings at a strike rate of over 151 and an average of 48.00. He took 11 wickets at an average of 17.36, with best figures of 3/20. In the final, he bowled the final over and took the match-sealing wicket of David Miller, with Suryakumar Yadav pulling off a catch for ages. In 94 ODIs, he has scored 1,904 runs in 68 innings at an average of 32.82 and a strike rate of 110.89, with 11 fifties and a best score 92*. He has also taken 91 wickets at an average of 35.50, with best figures of 4/24. In 127 T20Is, he has scored 2,027 runs at an average of 28.54, with a strike rate of over 143, with seven fifties and a best score of 71*. In Tests, he has scored 532 runs in 18 innings at an average of 31.29, with a century and four fifties and best score of 10. He has taken 17 wickets at an average of 31.05 and best figures of 5/28 to his name. (ANI)
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