Hardik Pandya reflects back on his fitness journey before the IPL 2022: Indian senior all-rounder Hardik Pandya has recently opened up on the plot that marked his comeback to the national side after a long forced break due to prevailing injury concerns in his body. Pandya, who underwent rigorous training in the past few months to regain his fitness, said it was more of a battle against his own self than answering the critics.
The Baroda all-rounder said he followed a strict routine for four months following which he led debutant franchise, Gujarat Titans, to a successful IPL campaign in 2022. Hardik, in his very first attempt as the skipper of an IPL team, raced to the finals of the tournament and even won the title.
Hardik, in the video posted by the BCCI, said that winning the IPL title was a massive thing for him as a lot of people doubted him at first.
“I was happy. It was more about the battles I won against my own self and a lot of other things as well. Winning the IPL, or even qualifying (for playoffs) was a big deal for me because a lot of people doubted us. A lot of people frowned at us before we started. A lot of people raised a lot of questions. A lot of things were said about me even before I made a comeback,” Pandya said.
“It was never about giving them answers. I’m just proud of the process I followed. No one knows what I went through the six months that I was off.”
He, then, further talked about his strict plan for the four months before the IPL 2022. Hardik said he woke up at 5 AM and slept at 9:30 and made sure he never miss training sessions.
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“I’ve gotten up at 5 in morning to make sure I train. I slept at 9:30 in the night for fourth months, so (there was) a lot of sacrifice. It was the battle I fought before the IPL. I have always worked hard in my life, and it has always given me the result I wanted,” added the Indian cricketer.
The 28-years old all-rounder has recently made a comeback to the Indian side after his memorable campaign in the IPL 2022 for Gujarat Titans. Hardik shifted his gears from playing an anchors role in Gujarat Titans to finishing the innings for team India.
Hardik amassed unbeaten 31 runs in just 12 deliveries against South Africa in the first T20I at Arun Jaitley Stadium, announcing his arrival in the national squad. If Hardik continues to play with such intensity, he will prove to be a great asset for the Indian team going forward in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
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