At the centre of India's run to the 2024 T20 World Cup title has been a story of redemption for Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder had an extraordinarily bad season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) just before the tournament, copping boos from the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium almost every game as the fans refused to accept him as captain of the Mumbai Indians. The atmosphere affected his performances as well as scored just 216 runs and took 11 wickets with an economy of 10.72 and MI finished bottom of the table.

Ishan Kishan saw all this from close by playing under Pandya at MI and he posted a video showing him hugging his MI captain. Kishan himself has been going through a difficult time, having being almost frozen out of the Indian team and thus missing out on a spot in the squad that won the T20 World Cup.

"You faced so many things these past few months yet you stayed calm and focused. And today bhaiya you got the result of your hard-work, honesty and sincerity. There’s so much more i feel and want to say but words will fall short. You are a champion and you are rare," said Kishan in his caption to the video. The song “Vande Mataram” by AR Rahman can be heard playing on Pandya's phone as Kishan walks in, indicating that the all-rounder was probably watching the video of the Indian players leading the fans in singing the iconic song at the Wankhede Stadium as they took a lap of honour after the felicitation ceremony.

Cheers for Pandya in Mumbai

Pandya was the one who walked out of Mumbai airport with the trophy in his hands. His name was chanted at various points by the fans who filled up the iconic Marine Drive as the Indian team did a victory parade in an open-top bus from one end of the promenade to the other, finishing it off at the Wankhede Stadium.

They also had a felicitation at the stadium where Pandya's name was chanted at various points once again, particularly when Rohit appreciated his efforts. “Hardik was bowling the last crucial over for us. Hats off to him for that last. You know how many over you need to defend, there is always so much pressure to bowl that over, hats off to him,” Rohit said, sparking huge cheers from the fans.

Pandya also acknowledged the Wankhede crowd and expressed gratitude during the felicitation ceremony in the den of the Mumbai Paltan. The all-rounder picked up three wickets for 20 runs in the T20 World Cup final at the Kensington Oval. Following Rohit's retirement from the shortest format in the international arena, all-rounder Hardik is heavily tipped to succeed the veteran opener as India's next T20I captain

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