Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been in great form and has made a brilliant comeback to India’s T20I squad. He slammed a 12-ball 31 against South Africa on Thursday at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi.
Hardik Pandya recently led the Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League 2022 title in their maiden season. He performed well with the bat and was their leading run-getter in the tournament. In fifteen matches, he scored 487 runs at an average of 44.27 and at a strike rate of 131.26 and took eight wickets
Hardik’s performance earned him a comeback to India’s T20I squad. He is also Rishabh Pant’s deputy for the series, after KL Rahul, who was named the skipper, got injured. The all-rounder’s career has been hampered by injuries, which made impacted his place in the Indian team. Speaking to Star Sports, Hardik Pandya opened up about his India comeback. He expressed,
“Emotional-wise I was pretty alright. Obviously, I was happy but for me, it was more about the battle which I won against myself and kind of other things as well. Even qualifying was a big deal for me because a lot of people doubted us before we started. A lot of things were said for me before I made a comeback. For me, it was never about giving them answers but I was just proud of the process that I followed.”
Talk about annoucing his return in style! 👌 👌
Sit back & relive @hardikpandya7's stunning 3⃣1⃣*-run cameo 🎥 🔽 #TeamIndia | #INDvSA | @Paytm https://t.co/8mi8FQTtAU
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 9, 2022
A lot of sacrifices were made: Hardik Pandya on his India comeback
Hardik Pandya further added that he made a lot of sacrifices to earn a comeback call. He expressed that his efforts were worth it, as his performance in the Indian Premier League gave him a place in the Indian squad. The Indian all-rounder stated,
“I’ve gotten up at 5 am in the morning to make sure I train and then make sure that the second time I train at 4 pm and give myself enough rest. I slept almost those four months at 9:30 pm. A lot of sacrifices were made but for me, it was the battle which I fought before playing the IPL. After seeing the result, it was more satisfying for me, as a cricketer.”
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