Taking good and bad positively during his recovery from injury helped Hardik get back to best

PTI, Oct 20, 2022, 2:42 PM IST

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Star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya says adopting a positive approach to all things in life and support of his family members who ”let him be” as he battled recurring injuries helped him get back to his best ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Hardik could potentially be the deciding factor if India are to do well in the T20 World Cup in Australia. India open their campaign against Pakistan on Sunday. Ahead of his departure to Australia, the 29-year-old opened up about the important role played by his family.

Pandya has spent a considerable amount of time on his fitness over the last 18 months after recurring injuries kept him away from bowling. He is now bowling regularly for India, lending much needed balance to the side.

”It has to do a lot with helping myself to go back to the basics and approaching everything on a positive note. Because of that I have got peace in my life looking at the brighter side always. ”I know I will have good days and bad days but the positivity comes from the hard work that I put in, which then gives me the self-belief and confidence to give it everything. And with the support of my family to always have my back, I feel a sense of complete focus and positivity around me,” he told RISE Worldwide.

Pandya has had a very successful year since his return to full fitness. He captained the Gujarat Titans to victory in their first season in the IPL and has since been India’s second highest run-scorer in T20 Internationals besides producing match winning spells. The allrounder said that he has had a lot of time to focus on himself and reflect on parts of his journey that he had previously forgotten. While Pandya has always worked doubly hard to get fitter, he credited his family for allowing him to go one step further during the last year or so. ”This time the difference was that my family played a big role in terms of letting me be myself. More than anything, letting me have my own time to realize what exactly I want for myself,” he said. ”The credit goes to Natasha, Agastya, Krunal – everyone kind of allowed me to maintain my routine and made sure [to realize] that you know what, Hardik right now should focus on himself and he should keep himself as a priority.

”And because of that, I was able to understand a lot of things which I had kind of forgotten over the years while playing because there are certain things you don’t write down, it just happens,” he added.