Hardik Pandya, who made his India debut under MS Dhoni back in 2016, has said that he owes a lot of his success and achievement to the former India captain. Pandya, in conversation with ESPNCricinfo reveals how it was Dhoni's calmness that played a huge role in Pandya overcoming the dark phase in his career when he was banned by the BCCI for certain comments made on a TV talks show.
"He knows what kind of an individual I am. He knows me quite deep. I am very close to him. He is the only person who can make me calm. When all this happened, he knew that I needed support. I just needed a shoulder, which he provided multiple times in my cricketing career," Pandya was quoted by saying on The Cricket Monthly.
"I never saw him as MS Dhoni the greatest. For me, Mahi is my brother. I respect and admire the fact that he was there when I needed him the most."
Stressing on Dhoni's warm persona, Pandya looked back at an incident from 2019 when the former India captain floored the all-rounder with a heart-warming gesture. This was during January of 2019, when India had toured New Zealand for a limited-overs series, and Pandya, with his ban lifted by the BCCI, was a late addition into the squad. The all-rounder recalled how he was struggling to find a hotel room in New Zealand, a call from Dhoni came to the rescue.
{{/usCountry}}Stressing on Dhoni's warm persona, Pandya looked back at an incident from 2019 when the former India captain floored the all-rounder with a heart-warming gesture. This was during January of 2019, when India had toured New Zealand for a limited-overs series, and Pandya, with his ban lifted by the BCCI, was a late addition into the squad. The all-rounder recalled how he was struggling to find a hotel room in New Zealand, a call from Dhoni came to the rescue.
{{/usCountry}}"MS was someone who understood me from the start: how I function, what kind of a person I am, what are the things I don't like, everything. When I was picked for the New Zealand series, initially there were no hotel rooms [for him in New Zealand]," added Pandya.
"But then I get a call, saying, "You just come. MS has told us, 'I don't sleep on the bed [in any case]. He will sleep on my bed and I will sleep on the floor.'" He [Dhoni] was the first person who has been always there."