A word that’s come to be associated with Hardik Pandya is ‘Aura’. When that Aura enters the Cauldron that is the Wankhede, the buzz it generates is simply unreal. IPL 2026 marks eleven years of that buzz.  

In these eleven years, Hardik Pandya has gone from a lanky, raw youngster with flashes of brilliance, to a solid, clutch, bankable star, to an inspirational leader. At a chat during The MIX, a Mumbai Indians Experience, with the Blue and Gold fans in attendance, he spoke about the road that brought him this superstardom.

“Before I played for Mumbai Indians, I was just a pure batter for 19 years,” he said. “I just knew one thing, if you told me to run 12 rounds, I would run 15 rounds. Out of the blue someone saw me, and one year later, I played Ranji trophy. All of a sudden, there are Mumbai Indians scouts in the stands. They have not even come to see me. That’s the beauty of it. Luckily, God was kind. I did well in that game. They didn’t even come to see me, but then they identified that this kid has something special and will play for us for long. That is what MI scouting does. It is fantastic.”

He still follows the same mantra. Work hard, perhaps harder than usual, push boundaries, and you’ll get lucky.

“ The only thing I knew was how to work hard. No matter how much someone pushes, the world goes upside down, mujhse mera mehnat koi nahi cheen sakta (nobody can take away my hard work).”

The Wankhede fans now. They’ve been a rock, standing by Mumbai Indians, the pinnacle of loyalty. They’ve been the fuel that has powered the team over the last nineteen seasons.

“I’ll speak from my heart. I love to feel love,” he said. “The boost we get as a cricketer is when these people shout and they are there out there no matter what. Whether we win or lose, they still keep backing us. I crave for that love. I come from a place where I found it difficult to find my place early on. Mumbai Indians was the only team that backed me and thought ‘Aisa bhi character ho sakta hai’. They gave me the fuel to put my heart out.”

“The example I have to mention is the kind of atmosphere we need to create in the semi-final, the India versus England game. We all saw what happens when they get behind.”

So how would he describe them in a word?

“I love that word, ‘Dhadkan’. Without the Dhadkan you can’t do anything. Without the Dhadkan you can’t hit sixes. Without the Dhadkan, you can’t run. Without the Dhadkan, Mumbai Indians cannot be Mumbai Indians.”