Ace India all-rounder Hardik Pandya had an amazing year in 2022 in which he made a comeback after a six-month break working on his fitness after the T20 World Cup 2021 debacle.
Pandya had suffered a debilitating back injury during the 2018 Asia Cup and underwent surgery in London to sort the issue. However, his fitness took a hit as he was unable to bowl regularly without breaking down and played as a batter for MI in IPL 2020 and 2021 and for India in the 2021 T20 World Cup, where his performances suffered.
However, ever since returning from his sabbatical, Pandya has been super fit and even took on the responsibility of captaincy, leading the Gujarat titans to IPL 2022 win and also captaining India in T20Is.
He has also shown that he can bowl his four overs without much pressure and is calmer and more calculated while batting in the middle order.
Talking about the same on Star Sports’ show Follow the Blues, Hardik Pandya talked about his growth as a cricketer and other obstacles and talked about the influence and guidance of former captain MS Dhoni, with whom he shares an amazing bond.
He said: "I was just a new kid trying to learn new things about life and sport. MS Dhoni has played a big role in my growth. Whenever I got an opportunity, I used to observe him and learn things. The kind of mindset and knowledge he had, just observing it, it has reflected in my personality on the field.”
He talked about captaining teams and said that he always wanted responsibility since when one owns something, it becomes more personal to him.
"It was about owning my mistakes, taking my chances, failing and learning from them. Sometimes, it is failures that teaches you, not your closest confide, not your aid and to a good extent even Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni). Some failures, you just experience and you learn from them," he added.
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The star all-rounder, who will turn 29 in October said that the last four years of his life have been his most important.
"The way things shaped, I cannot put this all in words. It was a learning phase for me. You might go to a restaurant, the food could be amazing but if there is no finishing touch, it does not add the charm to the dish no matter how it tastes. The look of it matters. It is similar in the game, no matter how close you come, how well-poised you are, how strong you are, when you do not get finishing touches from your lower order or finisher, it does not look complete," he said.
Pandya will remain a very important player for Team India in the upcoming ICC World T20 2022, which will take place from October-November this year.
(ANI inputs)
