New York (United States): After playing a superb knock against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up game, all-rounder Hardik Pandya opened up about the difficult time he had before the start of the coveted tournament.
Hardik has been in the headlines since the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. First, he received a lot of flak from the Mumbai Indians (MI) fans for taking over captaincy from star batter Rohit Sharma. The newly appointed skipper then failed to take his team into the playoffs and their campaign ended in a horrendous manner as the side finished the league stage at the last position in the points table. Hardik’s performance in the IPL was also poor and he struggled to score runs.
However, the all-rounder showed his batting prowess in the warm-up game against Bangladesh with a knock of 23-ball 40. Speaking after the game, he opened up on the time he was going through a tough condition.
"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," Hardik said on Star Sports, the official brodacaster of 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.
"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," added the all-rounder from Baroda.
"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," added Hardik, who has played 92 T20s.
Hardik further added that he doesn’t run away from difficult time and he faces it. "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. I don't run away from it. I face everything with [my] chin up," he concluded.
India will start their campaign against Ireland on June 5 in New York and the team will hope that Hardik delivers for them with all-round skills.
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