On Thursday, March 13, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, Kashvee Gautam of the Gujarat Giants had a fangirl moment when she met Hardik Pandya following the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 Eliminator against the Mumbai Indians.
Gujarat was eliminated from the competition after losing by 47 runs in the Eliminator. Gautam bowled economically and took one wicket. She was run out for four off six deliveries, though, when using the bat. Gujarat chased an enormous score of 214 but were knocked out for 166.
Hardik, the Mumbai Indians men’s team captain, attended the match against batting coach Kieron Pollard.
Harleen Deol introduced Kashvee to the Indian men’s all-rounder Hardik Pandya after the game.
Upon seeing Hardik, Kashvee greeted him with “Hi, sir,” to which Hardik responded, “Hello.” Expressing her admiration, Kashvee said, “Big fan, Sir!” and Hardik replied, “Thank you,” before asking, “Sab badhiya? (All’s well?). Kashvee replied, “Jee haan, bahut badhiya (Yes, very good)”. Hardik then asked, “Kaisa raha season? (How was the season?),” to which Kashvee replied, “Bahut achcha tha. (It was very good)”.
Harleen then shook hands with Hardik and said, “Ye bahut badi fan hain aapki, aapko imitate karti rehti hai.” (She’s a big fan of yours and keeps imitating you.)
Hardik then asked the 21-year-old Kashvee, “Tum bhi all-rounder ho, batting bhi karti ho? (You’re also an all-rounder, do you bat too?), to which Kashvee answered, “Haan, batting bhi karti hoon, HP33 likhwaya hai bat pe.” (Yes, I also bat, and I have HP33 inscribed on my bat).
View this post on Instagram
Then Hardik inquired about the bats’ weight, to which Kashvee said, “1100.” Following this, Hardik said, “Main chilwake bhejta hoon (I’ll send one for you after getting it shredded)” and vowed to give her a bat.
After shaking her hand once more, the Baroda all-rounder wished her luck. A happy Kashvee embraced Harleen following the positive exchange. After taking 11 wickets in nine games at an average of 18.18, the former had an outstanding season with the ball.
The WPL 2025 finals between the Delhi Capitals and the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians will take place at Brabourne Stadium on Saturday, March 15. Hardik and company will kick off their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign on Sunday, March 23, at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium against their bitter rivals, the Chennai Super Kings.