Hardik Pandya Cricket Idol: Hardik Pandya is one of India’s most popular cricket stars and he recently celebrated his second ICC T20 World Cup title, contributing to the country’s third title triumph. As a key all-rounder, his impact on the team’s success has been immense. However, he is currently making headlines for an unexpected reason. While attending the BCCI Naman Awards, Pandya was asked to name his cricketing idol, and he responded with Wasim Jaffer. While Jaffer’s stature as one of India’s finest domestic players makes the choice seem straightforward, the revelation has sparked intrigue among fans, with an interesting angle behind his answer now drawing attention.
Pandya Switches Idol From Pathan To Jaffer
While Hardik Pandya has named Wasim Jaffer as his idol, he originally had named Irfan Pathan as his cricketing idol in an exclusive interview with CricTracker, all the way back in 2015.
Naturally, fans picked up on this, leading to chatter on social media. Many suspected that this switch could be due to the alleged rift between Pandya and Pathan.
For those unaware, the apparent friction between Hardik Pandya and Irfan Pathan is believed to have originated from public criticism of Pandya’s performances by the latter.
The all-rounder was reportedly displeased with the remarks, which led to speculation of a strained relationship.
Pathan Says No Rivalry Between Him & Pandya
During an interview with Lallantop, Irfan Pathan denied having any sort of rift with Hardik Pandya.
“There’s no animosity between us. No cricketer from Baroda who has made it big can claim that Yusuf (Pathan) or I didn’t support them at any stage.”
Pathan and Pandya were also seen exchanging pleasantries after India won the ICC T20 World Cup, which suggests that any tensions between the two, if at all, may have eased.
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