Hardik Pandya being from a generation that witnessed Tendulkar dominating world cricket recently revealed his childhood cricket idol. It is neither Tendulkar nor power-hitting Sehwag, but Hardik Pandya named Wasim Jaffer as his favorite cricketer. Although Jaffer couldn’t represent the country for long. Hardik’s statement makes it clear that didn’t alter the kind of impact and reputation he had in the domestic circuit. Mumbai batter represented India in 31 tests and 2 ODIs scoring 1944 and 10 runs respectively. He has an illustrious first-class career scoring 19,410 runs in 260 appearances. Wasim has the most runs in the history of the Ranji Trophy (12,038), and Duleep Trophy (2545).
“Wasim Jaffer was my favorite cricketer”: Hardik Pandya
“Like everyone, I had favorite cricketers. I liked Jacques Kallis, Virat, Sachin sir. There are so many greats that you can’t pick. My favorite cricketer was actually Wasim Jaffer. I used to love watching him bat. Someone I always placed him above other legends. Somehow, I used to copy his batting, but I was never able to get his class.”
“Krunal is my backbone”
Apart from two brothers doing extremely well in cricket what attracts fans to Krunal and Hardik Pandya is the bond they share. However, a question arises if playing together the brothers ever had a rivalry. Hardik opened up about his bond with elder brother Krunal and how they improve each other’s game.
“Krunal and I are each other’s backbone. We talk cricket, life and a lot of things. If you would have asked me six years before that both you brothers would play for India together, I would take it. Krunal and I were completely different cricketers. He was a left-handed batter who could bowl while I used to bowl leg-spin and bat right-handed. He used to bat at 4-5 and I used to bat at No. 3. We never had a rivalry because our roles were always different. I used to play Under-16, he played Under-19. But we were there for each other so make sure we improve in all departments.”
