MS Dhoni played a big role in my growth: Hardik Pandya

MS Dhoni has played a big role in his growth. Hardik has been getting a lot of acclaim this year, be it for his superb all-round show with the bat and ball or his captaincy that helped Gujarat Titans clinch their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title in their debut season. His all-round show in India's Asia Cup opener against Pakistan was central to India's victory over the archrivals. Hardik took three wickets and scored 34 not out to play a key role.

Read AlsoAsia Cup 2022, India vs Pakistan: Hardik Pandya understands his game better since his comeback, says Rohit Sharma

Hardik put up an all-round effort to help India register a five-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in their Asia Cup opener on Sunday. With the ball he snared three wickets, including that of the dangerous Mohammad Rizwan, before dazzling with a 17-ball unbeaten 33, showing his high value under

"I was just a new kid trying to learn new things about life and sport. MS Dhoni has played a big role in my growth. Whenever I got an opportunity, I used to observe him and learn things. The kind of mindset and knowledge he had, just observing it, it has reflected in my personality on the field," said Hardik on Star Sports. He said that he always wanted responsibility. "It was about owning my mistakes, taking my chances, failing and learning from them. Sometimes it is failures that teach you, not your closest confide, not your aide and to a good extent even Mahi bhai (Dhoni). Some failures you just experience and you learn from them," he added. Hardik said that his failures helped him understand his role better and to find out which roles he is good at, how he could get better in his roles. The star all-rounder, who will turn 29 in October, said that the