When Hardik felt that his career was over, Dhoni had made a big prediction

Was robbed of 21 runs in debut

Under Dhoni’s captaincy, Hardik made his debut in 2016. All-rounder Pandya in his first stint as captain led Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL 2022 title and also scored 487 runs for the team. He has recovered from his back injury and has been included in the Indian squad for the upcoming five-match T20 International against South Africa. Pandya mentioned about the initial matches he played for the Indian team. In his debut match, he conceded 21 runs in his first over. He said that he felt that Dhoni would not turn to him for another over, but was instead supported by the captain as he took 2 for 37 in his three overs.

Felt career over

Hardik felt that his career would be over, as he had given up a lot of runs in the first over of his career. But then Dhoni made a prediction for him which turned out to be true. Hardik told SGTV podcast, “When I joined the Indian team, I saw people I saw growing up – Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Ashish Nehra. Earlier That I would have played for India, those stars were in the team. It was a big deal for me when I went there. So obviously the way I started, I think I am the first cricketer to score his first over. I went for 21. I really thought okay, this might be my last over. But I was so blessed and lucky to play under the captaincy of Mahi bhai, who showed a lot of faith in us, which helped us get to that point. Helped to reach where we reached today.”

But Dhoni had made a big prediction

Hardik told how MS Dhoni’s words boosted his confidence. Dhoni had told Hardik while predicting that you will be in the World Cup team. Hardik said, “Just after the third match of my international career, Mahi bhai told me that you will be in the World Cup team. So I got to hear this in my third match itself. I didn’t even bat in that match. But he assured me that you have expressed yourself. Yes, it was just a dream come true.”