YOUNGISTAN

AS VETERANS MOVE ON, THEIR TORCH OF BRILLIANCE IS PASSED TO THESE PLAYERS WHO EMBODY INDIA'S T20 HOPES

- RAHUL RAWAT AND SUHANI SINGH

HARDIK PANDYA, 30 >

All-rounder

T20* MATCHES: 100, RUNS: 1,492, STRIKE RATE: 140.88; WICKETS: 84, ECONOMY: 8.11

Enfant terrible, showboat, bad boy, call Hardik scriptor he owns: the game-changer. It's the role the Team India vice-captain enacted in the World Cup final. His two final overs proved why many see him as the rightful heir to Rohit Sharma as captain. The hug the two Mumbai Indians teammates shared after the victory spoke volumes, especially in the context of the rough IPL 2024 campaign Hardik has endured. As the new Mumbai Indians captain who replaced the beloved Rohit, Pandya became a punching bag, blamed for the team's lacklustre showing. But one off season cannot daunt the boy from Vadodara who thrives in the face of challenges-be it with power hitting, attacking bowling or his whiplash presence on the field. Quite like the hip hop artists that feature on his playlist, Hardik lives to make a splash.