Suryakumar Yadav Press Conference: How SKY Trolled Indo-Pak Rivalry
“I think all those moments have made me the person I am. There were early challenges in my international career where I had to hold my ground and hold back. It was important to believe in myself. Even though there is only a 1% chance in cricket, the game is not over until the last ball of the match is bowled.” “That match in Bangladesh was a classic example of that. One ball in front of the wicket the batsman started celebrating as if the match was over. He was celebrating right in front of me and it was all happening in front of my eyes.” “When things take a turn like this, it creates wonderful memories. Every time I see it, I think about how in the early days it was one of the challenges in my life and one of the moments in my career that shaped Hardik Pandya. I have had many more such moments, but my journey started with this,” Pandya said on JioStar. Pandya also described himself as the first “cricket geek” in bowling and admitted that he is yet to fully unlock his batting ability. After the last season of the IPL, he realized that he wanted to reach his true ceiling as a batsman. He also acknowledged the role his girlfriend Mahieka played in helping him reconnect with the joy of sports. “I think the kid in me, the cricket geek that’s always there, focused more on my skills as a bowler. I’ve always had a lot of confidence in bowling, but batting was very close to me.” “After the last IPL, I realized that I really want to play to Hardik’s maximum potential. I think I haven’t used more than 40 percent of my batting potential till now and that’s really honest feedback.” “What I know as a cricketer, what I envision, what I display and how I practice didn’t translate into performance by more than 40 percent. At some point in my life, I figured out how to get it out. That’s when Mahieka came into my life.” “We started talking about sports and how to bring that kid back. She helped me rediscover that excitement for the game that I always had. I went behind the scenes, worked really hard and had a lot of batting sessions.” “There were days when I was on the floor for six to seven hours. When I went to NCA, I went at 3:30 in the afternoon and finished at 12:30 at night. I was usually the last one to leave and turn off the lights,” he added. Stretching from mid-afternoon to midnight, these marathon sessions at the NCA in Bengaluru underscore Pandya’s determination to turn potential into performance as he enters the next phase of his international journey.