"Everyone wants to be like Hardik but they can't" - Mohit Sharma on Hardik Pandya's personality
Veteran Indian pacer Mohit Sharma recently opened up about his experience of playing under Hardik Pandya's captaincy during the latter's stint with the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League. He suggested that the all-rounder is overly expressive, a trait that many would want to have but fail to incorporate.
Sharma pointed out that if someone chooses to be humble, it doesn't necessarily mean that every individual would want that. He opined that Hardik is often misunderstood because it's not easy to accept a strong personality.
Speaking on the YouTube channel 2 Sloggers, Sharma said (from 27:03):
"The concept of being misunderstood is different for every individual. If I like to remain humble, it doesn't mean that everyone would like to remain humble. There are some people who are over-expressive. In our community, we find it difficult to accept when someone comes out like that.
"I will give you a perfect example - if you stay in a high-rise building and see someone enjoy the rain, even we feel like doing it, but our hesitation stops us. So, everyone wants to be like Hardik, but they can't be like him, which results in these things."
Hardik Pandya had an impressive captaincy stint with Gujarat before rejoining his former franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of IPL 2024. He captained GT to a title win in their maiden edition in 2022, followed by a runners-up finish in the subsequent season.
"He is a darling type of guy and very easygoing" - Mohit Sharma on Hardik Pandya
Speaking in the aforementioned video, Mohit Sharma mentioned that Hardik Pandya is a very easygoing person. He stated that as captain, the 30-year-old's best quality is infusing positive energy within the team and getting everyone pumped up.
The seasoned campaigner also emphasized that during his time with GT, Hardik Pandya would give it all on the field despite the issues with his back. Sharma remarked (from 28:05):
"As a person, Hardik is a very nice human being. He is a darling type of guy and very easygoing. He makes the atmosphere very healthy. It doesn't matter what the world thinks. As a leader, there is always some scope for improvement. Hardik's biggest quality is that he gets his players pumped up because he himself likes to be pumped up.
"When he does that, it is inspiring for the ones around him. He would somehow manage to fix his back but there would still be some cramps and back pain. It is easy for people to say, but you have to be in that situation to understand. You can't even move when your back is injured, but in that situation, he does fielding and tries to bowl two overs."
With 13 wickets from 11 innings, Mohit Sharma was the leading wicket-taker for GT in IPL 2024. However, the Shubman Gill-led side failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing eighth in the points table.