New Delhi: Hardik Pandya says controlling his mind and motivating him to do more in training has helped him achieve success on the cricket field.
The India all-rounder was bitterly criticised for his poor form in IPL 2024 for Mumbai Indians, the side he joined as captain in a mega-buck trade deal from Gujarat Titans before the beginning of the tournament.
He was roundly booed in venues across the country as he took over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma, under whom Mumbai won five titles.
But Pandya bounced back in the T20 World Cup, making crucial contributions with bat and ball as India won the tournament for the second time, after a gap of 17 years.
The 30-year-old has endured a turbulent period off the field as well as his marriage with Bollywood actress and model Natasa Stankovic collapsed.
They announced their divorce through a joint statement on social media platforms after four years together that led to the birth of a boy named Agastya.
After that announcement, he was overlooked for the T20I captaincy, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India picking Suryakumar Yadav to lead the team in their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
Pandya said he has learnt to push himself more in training, which has helped him remain sharp on the field.
“When our body does not get tired, our mind gets tired. So, so many times in my life, the difference between when I was able to push my limits was always the fact that when my mind gets tired, I will tell my body to just push because you will always have extra effort in your body,” he said while launching his sports apparel brand, as quoted by PTI.
“The difference between, if you do 20 and if I do 20, we are on the same level. But if I push to 25 and if I challenge my mindset, next time I’m going to do 25, next time I’m going to do 30.”
Reports suggest Pandya’s captaincy chances took a hit due to his suspect fitness that has prevented him from playing in all three formats.
He returned to action in IPL 2024 after a long break due to a back injury. It has prevented him from bowling long spells in ODIs, making him labelled injury-prone.
“The point that it is very, very important to sometime clean your mind as well, that your body has much more than what you can think and that video (he watched as a 16-year-old) stayed with me for so long that, every time in my life, when my trainer is telling me to do 10 push-ups, I’ve always ended up doing 15,” he said.
“And that has pushed my limits and I think slowly, everyone who wants to start with a fitness journey they should focus on that.”
“Start pushing your barrier every single day because the human body is such a lovely creation by god that it will mould however you want (it) to, however you want to have it, it’s just that it just needs little hard work.”
Hardik Pandya has endured a turbulent period on and off the field as well as his marriage with Bollywood actress and model Natasa Stankovic collapsed, having helped India win the T20 World Cup. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
