Cricket fans around the world often see the lavish lifestyle of successful cricketers. But, in most cases, there was a struggling phase behind their journey. At one stage, they fought just to make a decent living, but by breaking barriers, they went on to become successful. Team India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is a prime example of that.
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From Baroda, this all-rounder has come through all ranks and now has become an integral part of Team India. Currently, he is one of the most established Indian and global cricket stars. But once, during an interview on the show What The Duck 2 with Vikram Sathaye, Pandya himself revealed how he and his brother, Krunal Pandya, survived on a “Maggi diet” during matches at one stage.
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“There was a time when my diet was Maggi. I was a huge Maggi fan. But it was a combination of being a fan and the situation I was in. At that time, I loved Maggi, and it was also very difficult to afford a proper diet because of financial problems. Healthy diets are expensive. Now I can afford it, and I can eat whatever I want for my body’s needs, but at that time, there were many financial problems. I would eat it in the morning and at night. I would eat Maggi before going to the ground and also when I came home. The whole match was played on a Maggi diet,” he said.
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He also revealed how he and Krunal used to play village cricket to earn quick money. Per match, Hardik would earn 400 rupees while Krunal earned 500 rupees. “After our father’s heart attack, we had to pay EMIs for the car, and our cricket earnings were not very high at the time. In junior cricket we were playing well, so we were earning a little. We would get 40,000 rupees maybe. Most of the money we got would go into paying the EMI, which was 10,000 rupees a month. We would go and play cricket in villages to earn money — Krunal earned more than me. He would get 500 rupees a match, and I would get 400 rupees,” Pandya added.
Despite these early setbacks, both Hardik and Krunal managed to rise through the ranks and eventually represented India. Hardik not only played for India but also captained the side. He is also the current captain of one of the most successful IPL teams, Mumbai Indians (MI). Across formats, Hardik has played 219 matches for India so far and is now gearing up for the upcoming Asia Cup. On the international stage, he has won the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. In the IPL, Hardik has five titles to his name — four with MI as a player and one as captain of Gujarat Titans in 2022.
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Krunal has also represented India in five ODIs and 19 T20Is. He has four IPL titles to his name — three with MI and one with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2025.
Snehasis Mukherjee is Data Analyst and Senior Publisher with RevSportz.
