Hardik Pandya was all over the news the past two months, but not for the right reasons. The India all-rounder returned to competitive cricket during IPL 2024, where he replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians’ new captain, and that is where it all went downhill for Pandya. Speaking to the broadcaster (Star Sports) ahead of India’s lone T20 World Cup warm-up game against Bangladesh on Saturday (June 1), Pandya said these things happen in life, but he stays unaffected.
After leaving Gujarat Titans (GT) and rejoining MI ahead of IPL 2024, Pandya upset two fanbases for separate reasons. His performances were below par – scoring 216 runs from 13 contested matches while picking 11 wickets at an economy of over 10. What’s worse, his team stood tenth on the points table, with only four wins from 14 league matches.
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Reflecting on this low phase, Pandya said, “Eventually, I believe, you have to stay in the battle. Sometimes life puts you in situations where things are tough, but I believe that if you leave the game or the field, the battle that is, you won’t get what you want from your sport or the results you are looking for.
“So, yeah, it has been difficult, but at the same time, I have been process-driven, I have tried to follow the same routines I used to follow earlier.
“At the same time, these things happen; there are good times and bad times, these are phases that come and go. That is fine. I have gone through these phases many times, and I will come out of it as well,” he said ahead warm-up tie against Bangladesh.
‘This too shall pass’
‘This too shall pass,’ well, it reminds everyone of something – this was what Pakistan captain Babar Azam wrote for Virat Kohli when he was out of touch; ironically, the India veteran returned to form soon after. Pandya – a process-driven person, expects something similar regarding his form.
Since returning from the ankle injury, Pandya looked out of sorts on all fronts; however, with this mindset, he hopes to turn the tables around during the T20 World Cup in the Americas starting June 2.
“I don’t take my successes too seriously. Whatever I have done well, I have forgotten about them immediately and moved forward. Same with difficult times,” he said. “I don’t run away from it. I face everything with [my] chin up.
“As they say, this too shall pass. So, coming out [of these phases] is simple: just play the sport, accept that [you need to] maybe get better at your skillset, keep working hard – hard work never goes to waste – and keep smiling,” he smiled.
Meanwhile, batting first against Bangladesh, Pandya smashed three sixes in the 17th over, showing signs of returning to form. Pandya scored an unbeaten 40 off 23 balls.
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