Hardik Pandya posts picture with 'favourite' Brian Lara, former Sri Lanka star's three-word comment is absolute gold
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya met Brian Lara ahead of the side's first T20I against the West Indies in Tarouba.
Team India is currently on the tour of West Indies, as it prepares for the five-match T20I series starting July 29. On Wednesday earlier this week, the Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian team had registered a 3-0 clean sweep series victory over the Windies in the ODIs, and Rohit Sharma has since returned to the side as captain in the shortest format. The ODI series saw a fairly inexperienced Indian squad with a host of first-teamers like Rohit, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah among others being given rest.
While Kohli and Bumrah will remain absent for T20Is, Pandya and Pant will join Rohit in the series. Star all-rounder Pandya made a brilliant comeback to the Indian team last month after consistent performances in the 2022 Indian Premier League, where he led Gujarat Titans to a maiden title. More importantly, the 28-year-old India star also produced impressive performances with the ball on the tour of England earlier this month.
With such outings, Pandya has cemented his place in the Indian XI in white-ball formats.
Besides his solid contributions on the field, Pandya remains fairly active on his social media profiles as well, and as he prepares for the Windies T20Is, the all-rounder took to his official Instagram account to share a picture with one of the legends of the game, Brian Lara. The former West Indies batter had earlier met Team India head coach Rahul Dravid on the same tour as well.
“Met this absolute legend for lunch ! Always a favourite in the pandya household,” Pandya wrote as he shared the picture with Lara.
Former Sri Lanka bowler Farveez Maharoof had a brilliant comment on the picture. Tagging both the players, he wrote, “Master @brianlaraofficial with blaster @hardikpandya93.”
The first T20I of the series takes place at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad. Both teams will then move to Basseterre for the second and third game, and the final two T20Is will take place in Lauderhill in Florida.