Hardik Pandya, the star all-rounder for India, claims that MS Dhoni, the former captain of the men's team, was a major influence on his development as a cricketer.

For Pandya, 2022 has been a year to remember after leading Gujarat Titan to the IPL 2022 championship in their inaugural season. With both bat and ball, he has proven to be a match-winner for the team since joining the national side.

The 28-year-old was in superb form as India defeated Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 opening thanks to his brilliant bowling and batting performances from him. Prior to the match against Hong Kong, Pandya claimed in an interview with Star Sports that Dhoni had a significant influence on his development and that anytime he had the chance, he took it to watch the former India captain and pick his brain.

"I was just a new kid trying to learn new things about life and sport. MS Dhoni has played a big role in my growth. Whenever I got an opportunity, I used to observe him and learn things. The kind of mindset and knowledge he had, just observing it, it has reflected in my personality on the field," he said. 

"It was about owning my mistakes, taking my chances, failing and learning from them. Sometimes, it is failures that teaches you, not your closest confide, not your aid and to a good extent even Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni). Some failures, you just experience and you learn from them," said Pandya.

He also opened up about the art of finishing a game and said that the match doesn't look complete without contributions from the lower order or the finisher.

"You might go to a restaurant, the food could be amazing but if there is no finishing touch, it does not add the charm to the dish no matter how it tastes. The look of it matters. It is similar in the game, no matter how close you come, how well-poised you are, how strong you are, when you do not get finishing touches from your lower order or finisher, it does not look complete," said Pandya.

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