Success, failure do not influence Pandya’s mindset

SOUTHAMPTON: Success and failure have stopped influencing all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has learnt to live a “neutral life” with a lot of clarity.

After battling an injury, Hardik made a grand comeback in the Indian Premier League 2022 by leading Gujarat Titans to its maiden title in its debut season. The 28-year-old then captained the national team in the 2-0 T20I series victory over Ireland.

On Thursday, ‘Man of the match’ Hardik (51 off 33 balls & 4/33) shone with both bat and ball as India defeated England by 50 runs in the T20I series opener here. “Hard work always pays off. I always believe that if you work hard with good intention, it will pay off. My point is how to prepare myself in the best possible way. One day, the result will go my side, the other day, it won’t,” Hardik said at the postmatch press conference.

“My mindset neither takes me high nor takes me low. I have learnt to live neutral in life. Today was a good day, tomorrow can be bad but life moves on, so keep laughing and doing your hard work.” Hardik said that he is clear about his life and whenever he gets off the track, he has a good “support system” to bring him in line.

“Clarity has always been there in my life. Whenever I feel that there is no clarity in my life, I take time off, and try to identify and rectify it. I don’t like to do things in a hurry. Leave batting and bowling, in general, clarity in life is important.

“For me, my support system is very strong. My family is very important for me. That also brings clarity. When I am a little confused, there is Krunal [Pandya], my sister-in-law and my wife. We share such a strong bonding that if I deviate a little, they kind of bring me back,” explained Hardik.