Hardik Pandya Idol: Today, whenever there is mention of all-rounder in Indian cricket, Hardik Pandya is talked about. His name comes first on everyone’s tongue. Before Hardik Pandya, Irfan Pathan had the same status. In Indian cricket, Hardik Pandya has carried forward the image of Irfan Pathan as a pace bowling all-rounder. It was easy for Hardik to do this because he used to follow Irfan Pathan since childhood. He considered him his ideal. But, what happened now that those whom Hardik Pandya followed since childhood, became strangers to him.
Hardik called Irfan Pathan his idol in 2015
Hardik Pandya had given an interview to Crictracker in 2015, in which he had described Irfan Pathan as his idol. When asked who he considers as his idol as a young cricketer, Hardik had said that his cricketing idol is Irfan Pathan. This is because he bowls, bats and does everything. He is a proper all-rounder. I have been following him since childhood. Like him, I am also an all-rounder. I have learned a lot of things from him while playing for Baroda.
Those whom I followed since childhood changed in 2026
But, after 11 years in 2026, when Hardik Pandya was again faced with the same question as to who was his idol, the answer was different. This time he took the name of Wasim Jaffer instead of Irfan Pathan. Hardik Pandya said these things during BCCI’s NAMAN Awards. Pandya said that Jaffer’s consistent performance in domestic cricket has always inspired him.
Is this the reason for increasing distance from Irfan Pathan?
Now the question is why Hardik did not take the name of Irfan Pathan again? Are they starting to hate him? In an interview, Irfan Pathan had said, though not directly, that on the complaint of Hardik Pandya, he was removed from the broadcast team of IPL 2025, which could be the reason for the rift between the two. Irfan had said this in the context when before IPL 2025, some reports were also claiming that Irfan Pathan had to lose his job due to the criticism of a senior player of the Indian team.