Flamboyant India all-rounder Hardik Pandya opened up about his workload management and how he prepares himself before the match to get the best out of himself in both the batting and bowling departments. Hardik is one of the most crucial players in the white-ball formats, he has also been leading the T20I team in the past few months after last year’s T20 World Cup. However, he has not played in red-ball cricket since 2018 due to workload management. After sustaining a back injury a couple of years ago, the BCCI has closely monitored his workload management and has not picked in the Test side.
Hardik recently talked about workload management and said that being an all-rounder his workload is almost twice or thrice than the others.
“As an all-rounder, my workload is twice or thrice as anyone else. When a batter in the team goes and bats and finishes his batting and is heading home, I’ll still be bowling after that. So for me, all the managing, all the pushing, and everything happens during the sessions or my training or my pre-camp season. When the game arrives, it is more about whatever the team requires, and the managing side goes out of the park, and it is more practical calls that how many overs are needed for me,” said Hardik on Star Sports.
He also shared how he backed himself and called himself a believer.
“Because if 10 overs are not needed, there is no point in me bowling 10 overs, but if 10 overs are needed, then I’ll be bowling. I always believed that I give myself a chance to succeed, which is by reading the game, which is by backing myself because I have always believed that when we go as a believer, when I’m standing there, yes, my ten players, my ten brothers are around me, but at the same point of time I’m alone,” he added.
“When bowling, I have to back myself to the fullest because the opposition, the batter, they want me to make a mistake. At the same point of time, as a batter, yes, two people are batting, and he is there with me fighting, but there are also eleven on the ground against me, and at the same point of time, it could be the crowd or anything,” said Hardik.
Hardik said that it’s important to believe that you are the best in the world as it helps one to work towards excellence.
“So what I have realized is that no matter what happens, you have to back yourself, you have to believe that you are the best in the world. That does not guarantee you success, but at the same point of time, it does give you and it does guide you to work towards success, so practically back yourself,” he added.