India's dynamic all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been a constant fixture in the headlines over the past few months. Following his move to the Mumbai Indians and his appointment as captain, Pandya has often been in the news for less than favorable reasons.
The experienced cricketer couldn't lift the Mumbai Indians from the bottom of the 10-team points table in the Indian Premier League 2024. However, there seems to be a resurgence in his form, as he scored an impressive 40 off 23 balls for India in the T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match against Bangladesh on Saturday.
India clinched a 50-run victory in their sole practice match, and Pandya earned praise for his stellar finishing. After the match, the all-rounder spoke about the challenging times he has faced recently.
"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," Pandya told Star Sports.
"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," he added.
"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 further said.
The cricketer from Baroda is known for not letting success or failure overly affect him. He acknowledged that the key to overcoming difficult times is to accept the need for improvement and work diligently on enhancing his skills.
"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 this phase 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," Hardik added.
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