India’s premier seam-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya has endured tough times in the past couple of months, but he isn’t ready to “run away from it” and instead prefers to lean on to his 16-year-old self when he had to fight for opportunities, to motivate himself back.

Pandya, now 30, was subject to boos after he was appointed the captain of the Mumbai Indians franchise, replacing five-time title winning captain Rohit Sharma, and eventually the franchise endured a last-place finish in IPL 2024.

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Pandya’s returns with the bat (216 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 143.04 and average of 18.00) and ball (11 wickets in 12 innings at an economy rate of 10.75) were mediocre, leading to widespread speculations of his non-inclusion in the 2024 T20 World Cup squad.

“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. 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,” he added.

But in contrast, the BCCI senior selection committee reposed faith in the all-rounder’s abilities and included him in the T20 World Cup squad as the side’s vice-captain. As Pandya gears up preparations for India’s opening World Cup match against Ireland on Wednesday, he’s up for a fresh start.

“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. I don’t run away from it. I face everything with (my) chin up,” he said.

“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,” he added.

Hardik also stressed on the importance of going back to his teens when things weren’t as good for him as they are now but that period perhaps shaped him.

“I think it comes down to self-belief. I believe a lot in hard work. You can succeed only if you put in the effort for it. I want to give myself the opportunity to… why do I prepare and commit myself every time? The only reason is that while I am not guaranteed success, I am guaranteed an opportunity to be successful. I focus simply on how do I keep getting better. Speak to myself. Try to know my real version.”

“Hardik Pandya right now at 30 is a much, much easier job compared to what Hardik Pandya was when I was 16. So I go back to the 16-year-old and I ask him how did you do it, why did you do it?

“At that point of time, I didn’t have facilities or opportunities. Hard work gave me opportunities and opened doors for me. So I am in that zone right now (where) I am going and asking the 16-year-old – because he is my actual motivator, because if that guy hadn’t set the platform I probably wouldn’t have been here,” he said.

Back in India jersey, Hardik seemed to have found back the motivation when he returned with a 23-ball 40 and 1 for 30 during India’s only warm-up match against Bangladesh in the run-up to the T20 World Cup.

While he’s started his World Cup campaign on a high, there will be a billion expectations pinned on him. Can he sustain the impressive all-round form as India hopes to end the title drought in the Americas? For that Hardik has to “stay in the battle”!