Ian Bishop, former West Indies fast bowler backed Hardik Pandya and claimed that he will come good in the T20 World Cup 2024 edition. Hardik faced a tough time in the IPL 2024 as he was booed every time he came to the field. He returned to his old franchise, the Mumbai Indians (MI) after quite some time having played in the Gujarat Titans for two years from 2022 to 2023. He was appointed as the skipper in 2022 when was signed by the Gujarat Titans and led the team to win its first IPL title.
Ian Bishop backs Hardik Pandya to come good in T20 WC 2024
Bishop reckons that Hardik Pandya didn’t deserve such kind of criticism from the fans, especially from the MI fans. But Bishop feels that the all-rounder is strong both physically and mentally and will surely find his play to deliver outstanding performance for the Blue squad.
This is what Ian Bishop had to say about Hardik to the host broadcaster of the T20 World Cup:
“I think he is a pretty strong personality. I would like to think that the other members of the team would have rallied around him. What he endured during the IPL, some of it was not of his own making. I just wish fans could have approached it maybe a little differently, but they have the right to voice their views however they see fit,”
Hardik created an impact in the warm-up match having scored 40 runs off 23 balls against Bangladesh. The Blue Squad won the match by 60 runs.
Hardik Pandya opens up on his tough phase
Hardik Pandya registered 216 runs in his 2024 IPL career from the Mumbai-based franchise and bagged 11 wickets at an expensive economy of 10.75.
In the meantime, Hardik spoke to Star Sports after the conclusion of the warm-up match against Bangladesh disclosed his struggles, and also pointed out the need to stay focused ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. He mentioned:
“Sometimes life puts you in situations where things are tough, but I believe that if you leave the game or the field, the battle that is, you won’t get what you want from your sport, or the results you are looking for. I don’t take my successes too seriously. Whatever I have done well, I have forgotten about them immediately and moved forward. Same with difficult times. I don’t run away from it. I face everything with [my] chin up.”
Hardik concluded by saying that he used to take inspiration since he was 16 years old and planned on achieving his dream without possessing the facilities he has now.