IPL 2022: Hardik Pandya, fall guy to hero

IPL-winning Gujarat Titans skipper turns career around, lays down marker for future and targets World Cup nextAHMEDABAD: Soon after Shubman Gill hit the winning six off Obed McCoy to seal the IPL-2022 title for the Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya was locked in a long embrace with wife Natasa Stankovic, who was visibly emotional. The Titans' triumph was, after all, the culmination of a roller-coaster journey for the India allrounder. Following an ordinary show in the T20 World Cup in the UAE in October-November he scored just 69 runs in five matches @ 34.50 and bowled just four wicketless overs for 40 runs Hardik was dropped from the Indian team. Subsequently, the 28-year-old was released by Mumbai Indians too. Soon, though, Hardik had some good news coming his way as New franchise Gujarat Titans made him their captain.

And then, IPL 2022 gave Hardik everything he would've wished for. He's now in the rare group of players who have been a part of five IPL title wins. He's led the Gujarat Titans, his home state IPL team, to the crown in their debut season with a stellar all-round show: 487 runs in 15 games @ 44.27, with four fifties while batting at the pivotal No. 4 spot. He also took eight wickets @ 27.75 (economy rate just 7.27). And he's walked back into Team India.

"Obviously, she (Natasa) is someone who's very emotional and she gets happy when she sees me doing well. She has seen me go through a lot and she has seen me putting in those hard yards. "That's something I don't speak about, but she kind of knows how hard I have worked behind the scenes," Hardik said, before adding: "My family has always been my strong pillar."

'WIN THE WORLD CUP, NO MATTER WHAT'Having almost given up on Test cricket, the rigours of which