“Ye to gharwala hai hamara”: How Hardik Pandya received autographs from Kenya team members after they perceived him as one of their own

Just like the Indian Premier League (IPL) has done it for so many players since its inception in the year 2008, team India’s go-to allrounder in the limited Overs format – Hardik Pandya too was a huge beneficiary of the cash-rich league, in terms of both his professional and financial growth.

It were the Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the 2015 edition of the IPL, who had roped in the flamboyant allrounder at his base price of INR 10 Lakh, and life has changed for him ever since the signing.

Not only did MI win their second title during Pandya’s debut season that year, but he went on to become one of their key players until the 2021 edition, when they already had five IPL titles under their name – the most by any franchise till date.

Joining him the very next year in the franchise was his elder brother Krunal Pandya, and the duo together played an integral part in helping MI win back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020.

Hardik Pandya received autographs from Kenya team members after they perceived him as one of their own

The duo share an enviable bond with each other, which is quite understandable when one gets to watch their interviews together or look at their social media handles.

During one such interview with Vikram Sathaye in his show ‘What the Duck‘, the two shared some of the most interesting and hilarious stories involving their personal and professional lives.

One such story involved members of the Kenyan Cricket team, who were to play a practice match against the Baroda Ranji team as part of their preparations for the Cricket World Cup 2003.

As narrated by Krunal, when the kids at the venue wished to have autographs of some of their team players, they kept denying them for some reason. However, perhaps owing to his dark skin tone, when Hardik walked towards them for the same purpose, they happily signed their names for him, thinking him to be from their own place.

“Agar aap Hardik ke bachapan ke koi bhi photo dekhoge to aisa lagega ki Carribean se ye bachcha aaya hai, ye Indian bachcha nahi hai. To vo bachche the, log autograph ke liye jaa rahe the, koi de nahi raha tha. Suddenly un logon ne Hardik ko dekha, aur ye gaya to saamne se isko autograph diya. Kyunki un logon ki laga ki ye to gharwala hai hamara! (If you look at Hardik’s childhood photos, you would mistake him for a Carribean kid. So when the kids wished to have their [Kenyan players] autographs, none of them were giving it. Suddenly they saw Hardik and went all the way to give him the autograph, as they thought that here’s someone from our place!),” remarked Krunal Pandya during the interaction in 2018.