Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya was criticised and trolled for the entire IPL 2024 after his switch from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians. Under his leadership, the five-time champions finished at the bottom of the points table, which didn’t help him gain moral confidence as one section of the fans kept protesting against him throughout the competition.
In India’s warm-up game against Bangladesh ahead of the T20 World Cup, Hardik looked in prime touch as the 30-year-old hit 40* runs off 23 deliveries. Following his impressive performance, the cricketer admitted that the road was difficult but he has been process-driven and expects better things in the future.
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The cricketer added that he hasn’t changed his routine and noted that bad phases come and go and he is used to it and knows how to come out of it.
“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,” Hardik told Star Sports.
“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 added.
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The Men in Blue picked up a 60-run win over Bangladesh in the warm-up match at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. Other than Hardik, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav also looked in good touch. With the ball, Arshdeep Singh picked up two wickets with the new ball while Shivam Dube picked up two wickets giving away 13 runs in his three overs.