[Watch] "Recharging"- Hardik Pandya rejuvenates himself ahead of 2024 T20 World Cup
Team India vice-captain Hardik Pandya is rejuvenating himself off the field after a hectic few months due to IPL 2024. He made his captaincy debut for Mumbai Indians (MI) this season after leading Gujarat Titans in 2022 and 2023. The Titans won the trophy in IPL 2022 while ending up as runner-ups the next year.
MI then pulled off a shocking all-money trade with GT and brought back Hardik into the side. They later appointed him as the captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, which caused a massive backlash from the fans.
The fans made their stance clear throughout the season by booing Hardik Pandya relentlessly during almost all of MI's matches. The outrage affected Hardik's performance as he struggled with the bat, scoring only 216 runs across 14 games at an average of 18. In the bowling department, he picked up 11 wickets but conceded runs at an economy rate of 10.75.
The Mumbai Indians team could not fire as a unit and performed poorly as they ended up at the bottom of the points table, making things worse for captain Hardik Pandya. After enduring a tough time over the last two months in the league, Pandya is currently on a break, rejuvenating himself before returning to action next month at the T20 World Cup.
Pandya gave a glimpse of his personal time by sharing a couple of videos and a picture on Instagram and captioning the post:
"Recharging."
"One good performance can completely turn things around for him"- Gautam Gambhir on Hardik Pandya
Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir recently put his weight behind under-fire Hardik Pandya. He believes that Pandya possesses the capability and mental strength to overcome the difficult phase with strong performances. Speaking on Sportskeeda's SK Match ki Baat, Gambhir said:
"There is no player in the world whose performances have been at the same level every time. If there was a player like that, he would be averaging 100, and not 40 or 50. If you're averaging 40, it means that if you've gotten 10 opportunities, you've failed in six. Hardik Pandya has the capability and mental strength."
Gambhir continued:
"One good performance can completely turn things around for him, which is very important for Indian cricket as well because he is a very important member of the Indian cricket team. He's got that X-factor, be it batting, bowling, or fielding. You cannot predict his performances at the World Cup based on what has happened in the IPL."
Do you agree with Gautam Gambhir's views above? Let us know in the comments section.