He Walked 2,390 Kilometres to Meet Hardik Pandya — Pandya Made Sure He Didn't Have to Walk Back

What happened?

A cricket fan named Ravi Kumar Rawat walked nearly 2,390 kilometres on foot to meet Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya — and when they finally met in Bengaluru, Pandya hugged him, praised his determination, and arranged a ticket so he would not have to walk back.

Rawat, who is from Lucknow, documented the journey on Instagram as he went. The video of the meeting itself has since spread widely on social media, turning a personal quest into one of the most shared cricket stories of the day.

How far did Ravi Kumar Rawat walk?

Rawat walked about 2,390 kilometres in total, in two legs. He first walked nearly 1,400 kilometres from Lucknow to Mumbai, hoping to meet Pandya there.

When he reached Mumbai, he learned that Pandya had shifted his base to Bengaluru for his recovery work. Instead of turning around, Rawat kept walking — another 990 kilometres south to Bengaluru — until he reached the city where Pandya is based.

Where did he meet Hardik Pandya?

Rawat met Pandya at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where the all-rounder is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

Pandya has been sidelined since this year's Indian Premier League with injury, and Bengaluru has become his base while he works his way back toward full fitness. That relocation is exactly why Rawat's journey kept getting longer: the destination moved, and Rawat simply followed it on foot.

What did Hardik Pandya say to him?

In the video Rawat posted on Instagram, Pandya greets him warmly, hugs him, and asks about the journey. Visibly surprised that someone had walked all the way to Bengaluru to see him, Pandya asked whether Rawat needed any help.

"Kuch chahiye toh bata dena," Pandya told him — "Let me know if you need anything."

He then turned to the practical part. Asked how Rawat would get home — by car or by train — Pandya told his team to get the return ticket arranged, so the long walk would be a one-way story.

Why is this blowing up?

First, the numbers are hard to ignore. A 2,390-kilometre walk is not a stunt you can fake in an afternoon, and Rawat documented it step by step on Instagram before the meeting ever happened, which gave the payoff a long, believable build-up.

Second, the ending matches the effort. Fans sharing the clip keep returning to the same detail: Pandya did not treat it as a quick photo opportunity. He stopped, listened, asked what Rawat needed, and sorted the journey home. One widely shared reaction put it this way: real greatness is not just about runs and records, it is about the heart behind the jersey. Another joked that Pandya's fans might be fitter than Pandya himself right now — a nod to the fact that the star is in rehab while his supporter arrived on foot.

Third, it fits a pattern people already love about Pandya's fan encounters. This is not the first extreme journey made to meet him: earlier this year, another supporter, Deepak Kumar, cycled from Odisha to Bengaluru hoping to meet the all-rounder. Rawat's walk is the longest version of that story yet — and the first one where the meeting, the hug, and the return ticket were all caught in one viral video.

What's next?

For Rawat, the next step is the easy one: a ride home that he did not have to earn on foot, arranged by the player he walked across the country to meet.

For Pandya, the focus stays on his rehabilitation in Bengaluru and his long road back to competitive cricket. If this week is any indication, he will not be short of support when he returns — some of it is willing to walk 2,390 kilometres to show up.

The takeaway is simple: the clip is not really about distance. It is about what happened at the end of it — a star who treated a fan's extraordinary effort as something that deserved more than a wave, and a fan who finally got the meeting he had quite literally walked into existence.

Sources

FAQ

Who is the fan who walked to meet Hardik Pandya?

The fan is Ravi Kumar Rawat, from Lucknow, who documented his walk on Instagram and met Pandya at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

How far did he walk in total?

About 2,390 kilometres: nearly 1,400 kilometres from Lucknow to Mumbai, then another 990 kilometres from Mumbai to Bengaluru after learning Pandya had moved there.

What did Hardik Pandya do for him?

Pandya hugged him, praised his determination, told him "let me know if you need anything," and arranged a return ticket so he would not have to walk home.

Why was Hardik Pandya in Bengaluru?

Pandya is undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru after being sidelined since this year's IPL with injury.