Making a comeback has always been a difficult task, especially when you’re completely down and out, facing criticism from all sides. To make matters worse, instead of support, you’re met with boos and hate. That’s exactly what Hardik Pandya experienced in IPL 2024. It’s fair to say that season affected both his performance and his Mumbai Indians team.
However, what he did after that will be remembered by many. First, in the T20 World Cup 2024, his all-round brilliance played a crucial role in India clinching their second T20 World Cup trophy. Then, more recently, in the ICC Champions Trophy, his power-packed performances stood out.
This is why the same Ahmedabad crowd that once booed him in the previous season now applauded him at the toss. That’s right—MI is playing against GT in Ahmedabad, and the overwhelming reception from the crowd for Hardik Pandya showed how his performances after that nightmare season transformed him into one of India’s most admired players.
“Cricket became my best friend, it pulled me through”
Recently, just before IPL 2025, Hardik Pandya spoke about his journey over the past year and how things changed for him.
“It always happens when you don’t leave the battlefield. For me, it was about surviving, maybe not about winning. That year was one where, for the longest time, I had to stand my ground and not leave the battlefield, which was the cricket field. I realised how everything was unfolding and that cricket would be my best friend—it would pull me out of it,” Pandya said during an episode of JioStar’s ‘Superstars’.
“Yes, it continued—I kept trying, kept pushing myself. And I think when all the hard work and everything came together, I don’t think I could have written a better script than what unfolded in my life.
Those six months, from winning the World Cup to returning and receiving the kind of love we got, were a complete transformation for me. I believe cricket was something I always knew—if I kept playing, stayed honest with my work, and remained truly dedicated, I could come out of it.
But as I said, I didn’t know how it would happen. It was a script written by God, and it all came together in just two and a half months,” he added.
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