India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been in the headlines constantly over the past couple of months. Ever since his transfer to the Mumbai Indians, especially as captain, the charismatic cricketer has been in the news, mostly for wrong reasons. The veteran cricketer failed to inspire Mumbai Indians side in the Indian Premier League 2024, finishing bottom of the 10-team points table. However, Hardik seemed to be getting back to his old form, having scored 23-ball 40 for India in the T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match against Bangladesh on Saturday.
As India secured a 50-run win in their only practice match, Hardik took the plaudits for his brilliant hitting as a finisher. After the game, the all-rounder opened up on the 'difficult' times he faced over the past couple of months.
"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. "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 said on Star Sports, the brodacster of T20 World Cup this year.
"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," Hardik further said.
The Baroda-born cricketer isn't someone who takes his success too seriously, and the same goes for the unsuccessful periods he goes through. He admitted that the only way to get out of the rut is to accept that he needs to be better at some skills and work on them to improve.
"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 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," Hardik concluded.