IPL 2021: Hardik Pandya opens up on mental health ahead of IPL opener

Dynamic India all-rounder and an integral part of the Mumbai Indians set-up in the IPL, Hardik Pandya on Wednesday decoded his thoughts on mental health and said that he has realised the importance of mental health while playing international cricket. He has credited his family for keeping in the right space and frame of mind. 

“When I play international cricket, mentally I realized because the kind of pressure that came into your life. Obviously, life change for us, but as an individual, you need to cope with all the things,” Hardik was seen saying in a video posted by Mumbai Indians on their official Twitter handle.

“So for me I realized that mental health is also important, where my family played a big role to make sure that I am in right space,” he added. 

In the earlier days, hardly any emphasis was given on mental health. However ever since COVID-19 created a ruckus across the world, the focus surrounding mental health has grown considerably. The pandemic has forced the players to stay in bio-secure bubbles where life is only restricted to hotels and stadiums. It is indeed testing times for all the cricketers across the globe. 

The dynamic 27-year-old all-rounder will be seen donning the Mumbai Indians colours once the tournament kicks off on 9th April with the season opener to be played between Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. On the occasion of World Health Day, Hardik also spoke about the importance of physical fitness. 

“Just making sure that in the day, you are doing some activity which is adding to your fitness, that’s very important. And if you look after small things, it’s going to be grateful that it is going to look after your body,” he said.

Hardik’s elder brother Krunal Pandya who recently made his ODI debut against England also said that he works hard for his “inner happiness and peace”. 

“When we work hard, we work hard for that inner happiness, that inner peace where you can sleep for eight hours, you can laugh for 4-5 hours,” said Krunal, who also played T20s for India and has been a vital part of Mumbai Indians.