Hardik Pandya pens down a heart-wrenching note on birthday: 'Best gift I've received...'

Hardik Pandya is currently with Team India in Australia to take part in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The Gujarat Titans skipper turned 29 on October 11 and the entire India squad celebrated his birthday in Perth, images of which was shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on its Twitter handle. The all-rounder took to social media and posted a heartwarming message for his son Agastya on his special day. Hardik Pandya's son did not travel with him to Australia. 

Pandya shares adorable video with son, captions it 'major missing'

The all-rounder posted an adorable video with his son which showed how much he missed him but will not be able to meet him due to national commitments. In the video, Agastya can be seen giving his dad a bat for practice. Pandya sweetly replies by saying thank you and starts playing with him. Hardik captioned the post by saying 'Major Missing'.

Since his return from injury, Hardik Pandya has had a good 2022 season so far scoring over 400 runs and picking up 15-plus wickets in T20Is. The star India all-rounder will be looking to finish the year with a match-winning display with bat and ball during the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Team India's match schedule during T20 World Cup

Team India are part of Group 2 in the T20 World Cup and will face the likes of  Pakistan, South Africa, and Bangladesh. Two more teams will join the group later after the completion of the qualifying stage. India starts their campaign against Pakistan on October 23 followed by matches against the runner-up of Group A qualifiers on October 27.

The Men in Blue will next face South Africa on October 30 followed by Bangladesh on November 2 and the winner of Group B qualifiers on November 6th. Like every team, India will play a total of 6 matches during the super 12 round. Out of 6 teams in both groups, the top 2 teams will qualify for the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will lock horns in the final.

India defeated Western Australia Cricket Association XI by 13 runs in their first practice game here on Monday. Hardik Pandya scored 27 runs off 20 balls in the match. The visitors will play another practice game against the same opposition on October 13 before travelling to Brisbane for the two official warm-up games against England and New Zealand.