The cricketer who ate only Maggi in the morning and evening for 3 years, is now the captain of the most expensive team of IPL.

Delhi: Who doesn’t like to eat Maggi as an instant snack today? Children and adults, everyone is equal in this matter. Even then, Maggi is not such a dish that it can replace food and keep eating it every day. This was not an amateur or a choice, there is an Indian cricketer for whom it was a compulsion to fill his stomach as it was cheaper in comparison. This cricketer himself told that out of compulsion he kept eating only Maggi for 3 years. The stories of new cricketers making their debut in the IPL, about their family poverty and difficulties in making arrangements for their father to play cricket, are being read every day, but the story of this cricketer who lived with Maggi for 3 years is absolutely unique.

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This cricketer is none other than Hardik Pandya, the current captain of Mumbai Indians and this is the story of his brother Krunal Pandya. This is the same Hardik Pandya who now buys a Ferrari worth Rs 12 crore in one go, sends a car worth Rs 4 crore to his previous wife for their child and gifts a car worth Rs 2 crore to his current girlfriend. He is constantly in the news for his fondness for expensive watches and other valuables. Don’t even talk about luxurious houses and other luxuries. How many such ‘turn around’ stories are there?

The journey from living on Maggi to reaching IPL contract and other earnings of Rs 15 crore has certainly not been easy but in this lies the hard work of Hardik Pandya. There were days when he and his brothers would play with kits borrowed from the State Cricket Association but would still go to matches in the car. This was a very troubling question for anyone that who is traveling in a new car, why is he asking to borrow the kit?

This kind of story related to Hardik Pandya, if his biopic is made in Bollywood someday, will make a tremendous plot. Life was not always so easy for Hardik Pandya; Struggled a lot in his early cricket days. Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani herself also mentioned that when she first met the Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal, they were surviving on only Maggi.

While looking for new talent for her team, she used to watch Ranji Trophy matches with the scouts and one day, she met two thin, tall boys who told that they had eaten nothing but Maggi noodles for three years because they had no money. However, he had the drive, passion and hunger needed to do something big. In 2015, Mumbai Indians bought Hardik Pandya in the auction for 10 thousand US dollars (at that time players were sold in dollars, not in rupees like today) and today the same Hardik Pandya is the captain of Mumbai Indians.

Hardik Pandya never hides the story of his difficult days. They were short of money, so both the brothers used to eat Maggi from morning till night, which is not an athlete’s diet in any way. Maggi before going to the ground in the morning, Maggi even after returning from playing. Was playing the entire match on Maggi diet. These were those matches in which a few rupees were paid for playing but lunch was often not provided.

Paucity of money made him a big fan of Maggi. Healthy diet is expensive. Now you can buy it, eat whatever you want for better fitness but at that time there were many financial problems. Decided that no matter what happens, never ask for sympathy from anyone. That’s why cricket equipment was borrowed, not food and other facilities. Those who saw his car did not see the condition of his house. There was a huge problem of money.

His father, who was the sole earning member of the family, was rushed to the hospital one night due to two heart attacks, but from there Hardik saw the real picture of financial problems. At that time, whatever the brothers earned from playing cricket, a major part of it was spent in EMI of Rs 10,000. The car was kept so that I could definitely reach the match otherwise I would not get the money for the day. Used to park the car a little away from the ground so that no one would make fun of him. There was a car then but no money for petrol.

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The situation was such that we used to buy petrol in bottles so that we could survive. Even till 6 months before getting selected in IPL, this was the story of life. Over the next six months, both their lives changed completely. Both Hardik and Krunal started playing for Mumbai Indians and Hardik first played for the national team.

It is not that Hardik Pandya does not know that people also call him a ‘drama king’ but he is not bothered by this and calls it his personality. Therefore, whatever we do, we do it openly. This is their nature.