It was such a couple of difficult months for Hardik Pandya when he returned to his old franchise in the Indian Premier League- Mumbai Indians (MI). The India all-rounder was expected to make a huge comeback in the MI franchise, but the fans never welcomed him, since after being appointed as the captain, replacing Rohit Sharma.
Hardik Pandya got brutal treatment from the fans around the country, in most of the venues, especially at home- the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This affected his batting and bowling so much, that the franchise ended the tournament with the wooden spoon.
If that wasn’t enough, news started to circulate over his personal life, as the T20 World Cup 2024 was coming near.
‘I have been process-driven’ – Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya, before India’s only warm-up game against Bangladesh on June 01, opened up on those difficult times in life.
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The all-rounder smashed 216 runs in 14 innings at an average of 18, and a strike rate of 143.05, with a best score of 46. When it comes to his performance with the ball in hand, the Gujarat-born picked up 11 wickets at a bowling average of 35.18 and an economy of 10.75 with a best bowling figure of 3/31.
Hardik Pandya got a huge bashing from the fans on various social media platforms, after a disappointing season with the Mumbai Indians
While speaking with Star Sports, ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024, Hardik Pandya spoke about the difficult times in his last few months but quite strongly vowed that he won’t run away from this situation and will look to keep fighting as much as he could.
“Eventually, I believe, you have to stay in the battle. Sometimes life puts you in situations where things are tough,” Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder acknowledged on Star Sports in an interview. “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.”
The Mumbai Indians captain obeys that along with good times, there are also bad times, and it’s important to respect all these phases.
“At the same time these things happen; there are good times and bad times, these are phases that come and go,” the all-rounder expressed. “That is fine. I have gone through these phases many times and I will come out of it as well.”
Despite his poor show, Hardik’s vice-captaincy role will be so vital for India going into the T20 World Cup, and that will be a golden opportunity to get the best version of himself.
“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,” Hardik Pandya remarked. “I don’t run away from it. I face everything with [my] chin up.”
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The all-rounder said that he aims to keep working hard and to get better at his skill set.
“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,” the all-rounder concluded.
During India’s only warm-up game against Bangladesh, Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten on 40 runs in 23 balls, shouldering on a couple of boundaries, and four over-boundaries, before picking up 1/30 in his three overs.