Hardik Pandya reveals he was dropped for his attitude problem

A strike rate of nearly 150 in T20Is, an average of almost 30 in ODIs, 54 wickets in ODIs and 38 in T2oIs – by looking at the stats, Hardik Pandya can surely get the tag of a complete cricketer. However, the one thing which many people hate about the otherwise oh-so-perfect all-rounder is his attitude. Fans and even pundits often criticize his over-the-top flamboyance and not-so-ordinary lifestyle.

All of that gathered pace when Pandya made some sexist remarks in popular chat show Koffee With Karan last year. He even was temporarily banned by the BCCI. However, Pandya has always said that people misjudge him as someone arrogant and egoist. Pandya has recently revealed that this misjudgment has been going on for long, as he was dropped for his attitude issues when he was just sixteen.

“I still remember I had a situation in which I was dropped from the U17 team because of the things which I had with my coach. It was very hilarious. I still remember someone telling my brother that I had an attitude problem. At the age of 16, I did not even know what attitude was. It was very funny that someone told me that I had an attitude,” the all-rounder said India Today.

“So I got dropped from the team and at the same time, my father got a heart attack. He was some who used to earn in our family. I and Krunal used to get a maximum of Rs 35,000 a year which is what you got at that time, playing U-16 or U-19 if I am not wrong. Krunal got dropped, I got dropped because of my behavior. At that point in time, everything stopped. Even that Rs 35,000 that could have helped us for a couple of months, it stopped,” he further added.

Pandya cut off his connections with the outside world

The Gujarat-born cricketer has revealed that in order to be where he is today, he kept his circle only related to cricket. He even curbed his connections with the outside, non-cricketing world. “I just went for the next three years between 17 and 19, I completely gave it to cricket. I just stopped talking to people. I was having just cricket friends, no one from the outside circle. Neither a girl or a guy or anyone. I was just cut-off from the world because I felt it might just distract me from my goal,” Pandya said.