It’s been only two days since Hardik Pandya has been removed from the potential captaincy position for India in the shortest format of the game. He still has put a pleasant smile on his face, having gone through all the hard times on and off the field, as he came to launch his sports apparel brand on Saturday.
Just a couple of days ago, he officially announced the separation from Natasa Stankovic, after four years of marriage, just before which he lost to Suryakumar Yadav in the race to be the next captain for India in the T20I format, for their upcoming trip to Sri Lanka.
The reports have claimed that the decision, not to appoint Hardik Pandya as the captain, came on the back of his fitness struggle in recent times. He was injured during the last year’s ODI World Cup 2023 in India, before making a comeback in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
‘When our body does not get tired, our mind gets tired. So, so many times in my life, the difference between when I was able to push my limits was always the fact that when my mind gets tired, I will tell my body to just push because you will always have extra effort in your body.’ Hardik Pandya expressed during the event.
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‘Start pushing you barrier every single day…’- Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians and was given the captaincy responsibility, replacing Rohit Sharma, which heated the fans of the franchise, as they didn’t receive the news on a positive note.
Fitness has always been the biggest challenge for the Gujarat-born, who has not been able to be part of all three formats equally, and bowl in the same way in the limited-overs games, especially the One Day Internationals (ODIs).
‘The difference between, if you do 20 and if I do 20, we are on the same level. But if I push to 25 and if I challenge my mindset, next time I’m going to do 25, next time I’m going to do 30.’ Hardik Pandya shared.
Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, when India went on to win the recently concluded Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, the Baroda all-rounder played a crucial role with both bat and ball, having smashed 144 runs in six innings, at a strike rate of over 150, besides picking up 11 wickets at an economy of under eight.
‘The point that it is very, very important to sometimes clean your mind as well, that your body has much more than what you can think and that video (He watched as a 16-year-old) stayed with me for so long that, every time in my life, when my trainer is telling me to do 10 push-ups, I’ve always ended up doing 15.’ Hardik Pandya observed.
The 30-year-old was been treated differently during the IPL, while the reactions that he has been receiving at the moment from the fans are quite different.
‘And that has pushed my limits and I think slowly, everyone who wants to start with a fitness journey they should focus on that,” said Pandya, adding that his highest score in the Yo-Yo test has been 21.7, only a few notches lesser than the upper limit.’ Hardik Pandya narrated.
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In this current era, it becomes quite tough for the players to keep on going every single day, as the all-rounder informed what keeps him motivated and drives him all the time.
“I never knew what fitness would do to me, but it’s just that I felt it that for me I always wanted to be No. 1 in everything which I do, so in a habit of that, I kept training a lot when I was young, I pushed myself a lot, ran a lot so I had a very good strong base.’ He concluded.
Hardik Pandya will be part of India’s T20I squad, but won’t be available for the ODI leg of India’s trip to Sri Lanka.