India all-rounder Hardik Pandya recalled an interaction he had with two cricketers before his second year in the IPL. In 2015, Mumbai Indians had picked Pandya for his base price of ₹10 lakh, with the all-rounder scoring 112 runs and picking up one wicket in the season. Next January, when Pandya made his international debut in Australia, the two cricketers reminded him of his worth now that he had represented the Indian team.
"I got picked at ten lakhs, right? Next year, a couple of cricketers, I won't name them, came and told me: 'Hardik, you deserve six-seven crores now.' Because I had played for India and I was the only allrounder going around at that point," Pandya was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo's The Cricket Monthly last month.
"I was like, it's fine. My brother is making ₹2 crore, I am picked for MI for ₹10 lakhs, but from my brand [endorsements] and as an India player, I was [still] making about two crore. So, we are stable."
Over the next year, Pandya's stocks would end up rising meteorically. In 2017, As MI won their third IPL trophy, Hardik scored 250 runs and picked up six wickets, while his brother Krunal hit 243 runs and grabbed 10 wickets. The brothers were retained by Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2018 season with impressive amounts.
"When I got 11 crore and Krunal got nine crore [after both brothers were retained in 2018 by Mumbai] - so 20 crore - we were very much neutral and grounded. It didn't excite us that much. Obviously, we were happy, but it didn't change a lot of things. We were still the same as before, but with money there was stability," Pandya had stated further.
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