Hardik Pandya believes one needs to be a “proper devil” to harbour grudges against Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the twice World Cup-winning India captain who by his own admission is “in the last phase” of his stellar career.
Pandya also debunked the myth that Dhoni was a serious person. “I’ll always be a Mahendra Singh Dhoni fan and for so many fans out there and so many cricket lovers. You need to be a proper devil to hate Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” Pandya, the Gujarat Titans captain, said in a video posted by the franchise ahead of Tuesday’s clash with the Chennai Super Kings.
Pandya said he had learnt a lot of cricketing nuances from Dhoni simply by watching him in action.
“A lot of people think Mahi is serious and all that. For me, I crack jokes and I don’t see him as a Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“I’ve learnt a lot of things from him, a lot of positive things, which I’ve learnt from him just while watching, not even much talking,” he said.
