Hardik Pandya: MS Dhoni was there for me when I needed him the most

India allrounder Hardik Pandya faced tough times in his career in 2019 following his appearance on a TV show Koffee with Karan which led to a wide media outburstPandya made some controversial remarks on the show which went viral on social media and brought negative reactions from the public leading to the cricketer being suspended by the BCCI along with teammate KL RahulHe missed a major portion of tours of Australia and New Zealand due to the suspension In an interview with ESPNCricinfo the allrounder recalled the time he heard about his suspensionTeam India mentor MS Dhoni with the support staff PicBCCIThe lsquobad boyrsquo imageldquoWhen I heard I was going to get suspended a lot of cricketers who knew me personally who knew what kind of an individual I am they went out and spoke about it which is fine They thought I was done I heard lots of people saying lsquoHardikrsquos done he wonrsquot be able to cope with thisrsquo Because I was the bad boy of Indian cricket at that timerdquo he was quoted as sayingPandya 28 further opined that there were times he used to cry a lot while practising at Bangalore He also said that he failed to concentrate on the sport properly and was not in the right zoneldquoAt the Chinnaswamy Bangalore while practising I was missing the ball by this much shows a wide gap Because when this is not right points to head and when you question yourself things just go wrong That day I cried during training because there was a lot of emotion Because of how I was portrayed after the talkshow incident I was never that individual I was not able to concentrate on my sport because there was a lot of expectation from myself leave anyone elserdquo he addedPandya has lavished praise on MS Dhoni while sharing his close relationship with the former captain and the current mentor of the national teamPandya explained how and when Dhoni provided him the kind of support which was required at certain stages during his careerldquoHe knows what kind of an individual I am He knows me quite deep I am very close to him He is the only person who can make me calm When all this happened he knew that I needed support I just needed a shoulder which he provided multiple timesrdquo Pandya saidThat brotherly feelingldquoI never saw him as MS Dhoni the greatest For me Mahi is my brother I respect and admire the fact that he was there when I needed him the mostrdquo he addedThis would be Indiarsquos first World Cup campaign since Dhoni retired in 2020 and the side will open its campaign against Pakistan on October 24 here ldquoThe biggest so far I will say because this time I donrsquot have MS Dhoni Everything is on my shouldersmdashI like to think that way because it gives me an addedchallengerdquoAlso Read Hardik Pandyas son Agastya gives him a surprise visit during interviewThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliabilitsy and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the contents in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever