Where Are The Indian Cricketers Who Began Their Journey With Hardik Pandya?

At that particular time, Hardik Pandya, an all-rounder for India, had already progressed from being a newcomer with MI in the 2015 edition of the IPL to the heartbeat of the MI side in little time. His instinctive power play, batting, and contagious energy were the making of him. He has been one of the leading finishers in India, won many awards in IPL, and has even shown maturity by leading the Gujarat Titans in their inaugural season in 2022 to win the title. But do you know the Cricketers Who Began Their Journey With Hardik Pandya? Where are they now? Let’s find out in this article.

The evolution of Hardik is all about resilience and reinvention, from breaking the nerve-racking final over against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup in 2016 to reinventing himself after a career-threatening back injury. He has more than 1900 runs and 91 wickets in ODIs and is an implicit member of India’s white-ball core, that is, T20s.

Interestingly, several other Indian cricketers began their respective journeys at approximately the same time as Hardik but took very different roads as the destinies of their careers unfolded. Let us now look at 5 Cricketers Who Began Their Journey With Hardik Pandya and check what they have been doing now- exclusively on Winexch, your ultimate destination for all the latest cricket updates and Match Insights.

5. Kuldeep Yadav 

Kuldeep Yadav became an international cricketer, making him available as the much-awaited requirement after many decades, for India, of a left-arm wrist-spinner. His turning potential with the newly acquired accessory presented him an extraordinary asset: Kuldeep made his first appearance in 2017, and became the first Indian bowler to register two hat-tricks in ODIs-one against Australia in 2017, and the other against the West Indies in 2019.

A slight dip in performance or form at different times has seen him out of the national squad for two years-2019 to 2021. He should quench those memories now, and his much-anticipated return is worth an encore. Picking 19 wickets in the just-concluded Test series against England spread over four matches gave the world yet another glimpse of his special aura.

At some point in the present, Kuldeep has 68 Test wickets, 182 ODI wickets, and 86 T20I wickets and is key to India’s blueprints in white-ball cricket. Indeed, his performances revive within Indian spinners the hope of fierce competition. 

4. Manish Pandey 

He shall always be remembered for a eureka moment — that he became the first Indian in history to score a hundred in the IPL. With the mind-boggling show in 2009 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Pandey’s journey to an international career was said to be set. 

Born in 2015 against Zimbabwe, Manish Pandey became a household name in India after his phenomenal century against Australia to chase a learned target of 330 runs in Sydney in 2016. 

Manish Pandey, every time, shall struggle to make his mark in the middle order. Such moments of brilliance in his performances have brought him to playing 29 ODIs and 39 T20Is, traversing over 1200 runs. Rather, it has been a journey that reminds us that talent alone sometimes falters in maintaining consistency in the higher grades.

3. Kedar Jadhav

He contributed unnoticed to Indian cricket between 2016 and 2019 with his unconventional batting style and insightful part-time spin bowling. Kedar’s name became10-popular in the domestic circuit after scoring almost 1200 runs in the Ranji Trophy season of 2013-14, making it to national selections. He often came into the picture at those crucial periods when the Indian top order seemed to be controlling affairs for some death overs.

From 2017 to 2019, he was basically India’s middle-order fulcrum. Kedar Jadhav has played a total of 73 ODIs and 9 T20Is in his career, where he has scored 1511 runs and 27 wickets. Jadhav slipped quietly from the national picture only to join the BJP’s political bandwagon in April 2025. Now he works as a Marathi commentator on cricket, keeping his bond with the game alive, and enlightening cricket aficionados in India with cricketing insights.

2. Shardul Thakur

This time, Shardul Thakur dons the avatars for honors achieved in the cricket ground as well as at home before many fans: Lord Thakur. He is also known for a never-give-up attitude, and quite a lot of talent with the ball and bat, both. He regained his place in the Indian setup after having an impressive domestic stint with Mumbai, including 48 wickets in the Ranji Trophy-winning season 2015-16 for that state. 

That’s an all-around, truly international mix of Thakur stats: 33 guys in the Tests, 65 in ODIs, and again about the same numbers in 33 matches at T20I, besides innumerable local cameos off the bench. Then he went to England with India in 2025, showing little impact in that short window. 

Shardul has been a fabulous contributor to domestic cricket so much that he has been given the captaincy of Mumbai in the 2025-26 Ranji season. He is now sweating it out to make his place in the fast bowlers’ competition in India, proving once again that cricket rewards hard work.

1. Yuzvendra Chahal

Playing with his mind, churning webs all around the batsman was something that came later for Yuzvendra Chahal. With the reputation of being a former junior chess champion, Chahal hardly ever let his psychological sharpness leak away in the progress of learning cricket. He made it big when he excelled in the final of the Champions League T20, meriting a place in India’s International T20 lineup. 

Of course, in 2017, against England, he was one of the few T20I explosions in history, spinning out 6 for 25. He spent significant years building himself as a trusted limited-overs spin option in India with 121 ODIs and 96 T20Is. Now with Punjab Kings in the IPL, Chahal has stepped down recently from the international scene, but it is mainly due to the competition at this point. Meanwhile, Chahal still has something to prove for his reputation. After two years of playing international cricket, he is still the current favorite among the fans and one crucial cog in the franchise cricket system.

Final Thoughts 

So, cricketers Who Began Their Journey With Hardik Pandya are still active in cricket, but not as consistently as Hardik. Their ride has proved unpredictable for these five cricketers – in a cricket career, form, fitness, and timing become critical determinants. While Hardik Pandya continues his transformation into a contemporary leader, his peers have sought their own path- some continue battling for a comeback, while others are in the limelight outside the pitch. 

Like these four, we narrate some such stories at Winexchange, most in-depth Match Analysis, along with the most authentic cricket updates from all around the world. Get connected with us for everything that makes cricket more than just a sport. 

FAQs 

1. When did Hardik Pandya make his debut for India in international cricket for the first time?

A: Hardik made his first appearance for his country in T20 internationals against Australia in 2016.

2. Which Indian spinner has achieved the rarest achievement of two hat-tricks in ODIs?

A: Kuldeep Yadav is the only Indian spinner to have accomplished the achievement of two ODIs hat-tricks, with the first coming against Australia in 2017 and the second against the West Indies in 2019.

3. What is Kedar Jadhav doing nowadays?

A: Kedar Jadhav also mentioned earlier that, in addition, he is a commentator for cricket in Marathi, and he was politically active with the BJP in 2025.

4. Yujvendra Chahal is currently playing for which IPL team?

A: Currently playing for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2025.