How Hardik Pandya made the climb back to the summit
At the moment, Hardik Pandya is playing like a man possessed. He used the IPL final to make a statement to his detractors. The just-concluded limited overs matches against England and Ireland saw him go from strength to strength. And it is clear to anyone watching that he has taken his game to another level to emerge as a key player in the India line-up.
In the ODIs, Pandya was the Player of the Series being the second highest run-getter with an aggregate of 100 in two innings at an average of 50. He bowled 17 overs and claimed six wickets in three matches. He dominated the final game by taking four for 24 and scoring 71, during a match-winning fifthwicket partnership of 133 runs with Rishabh Pant. In two T20 games, he was the highest wicket-taker with five wickets with a best of four for 33.
A rare talent, Pandya has endured a lot in his time in his international career. However, his most difficult moment came at the 2021 T20 World Cup when the team flopped and Pandya failed to make the kind of impact expected of him.
Selected as an all-rounder, he hardly contributed with the ball – he was restricted to a total of four overs in the tournament.
The India management had made it clear: they valued his position immensely but if he had to get back, he had to be at his best as a bowler too.
From there on, he started the process of working towards to peak fitness and form. When he teamed up with his mentor Kiran More, the former India wicket-keeper could see the selfdoubt that affects a player after a bad tournament. To regain his confidence, they started by working on his batting.
“When he came back initially, he really struggled. He was a little disturbed while batting. He said, ‘sir, I am struggling’. I said, ‘don’t worry about it, we will talk after 15 days.’ That really helped. After 15-20 days, I could see a lot of difference in the way he was hitting the balls,” says More.
“I have a theory – the higher the number of balls you play, the greater the benefits. And, Pandya is a player who loves to hit the ball. I told him, ‘don’t block it, keep hitting the balls. The bat swing and the hand-eye coordination will come’. He is like Virender Sehwag, if you tell Sehwag to defend the ball, he will be a different player.”
Pandya was down but determined. “He just said that he wants to spend three months in Baroda and work here. A clear plan really helps anybody who wants to make a comeback. If you keep on encouraging him, keep on feeding him, he is a player who wants to deliver all the time, that’s what he did. He is a lion-hearted guy,” said More.
One of the reasons for his below-par IPL in 2021 was the
way the teams throttled him with short balls. In the IPL and the UK tour, that chink in his game was not visible. He was getting into good positions to take on the short ball.
More said: “When you bat at 6/7, you get 15 balls to play. Now he is batting at 4/ 5, he has enough time to settle down and play his shots. He can come into the right position and play. At 6/7 he has got 15 balls, and you are chasing 12 or 14 an over, in that position you tell anybody in world cricket to hit a short ball bouncer straightaway hit for a six. It’s impossible.”
While More oversaw his cricket skills, Soham Desai, Team India’s lead strength and
conditioning coach, mapped out a fitness programme for the allrounder. The job of handling the strength and conditioning was entrusted to Suresh, a seasoned physiotherapist and fitness expert. “Back injury is not a minor injury, it is always there at the back of your mind,” More added. “Now he is fully fit, success in IPL made him more confident. That confidence really helps.”
For More, it’s clear: India has only three players who qualify to be termed as all-rounders (multidimensional) -- Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya. “At the moment, we don’t have a substitute for Pandya.”