'I was the bad boy of Indian cricket at that time'- Hardik Pandya reflects on his dark phase in 2019

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has solidified his reputation as the all-rounder in the side by performing well with the bat and ball in hand. Such has been his impact on the team that skipper Virat Kohli had quite a tough time when he was away with the injury. Pandya lends a healthy balance to the team by contributing well in both departments of the game.

Pandya made a mark in his debut ICC T20 World Cup in 2016 by holding his nerves and bowling a tight last over against Bangladesh. But since those five years, things were not smooth for the 28-year-old. He had to face the wrath of the public and BCCI for his controversial remarks during a famous talk show. Pandya also got suspended by BCCI in 2019 for the same when he was at the peak of his prowess. Due to his controversial remarks, he also lost several brand endorsement deals and the people started to troll him.

Pandya admitted that those times were testing and he struggled to cope up with it even though he was in good form coming into the IPL 2019. The India all-rounder opened about the suspension and other things to ESPNcricinfo.

“When I heard I was going to get suspended, a lot of cricketers who knew me personally, who knew what kind of an individual I am, they went out and spoke about it, which is fine. They thought I was done. I heard lots of people saying, ‘Hardik’s done, he won’t be able to cope with this.’ Because I was the bad boy of Indian cricket at that time.”

I was not able to concentrate on my sport: Hardik Pandya

The all-rounder further opined that there were times he used to cry a lot while practicing at Bengaluru. The 28-year old also said that how he failed to consternate on the sport properly and was not in the right zone.

“At the Chinnaswamy [Bengaluru], while practicing, I was missing the ball by this much (shows a wide gap). Because when this is not right (points to head) and when you question yourself, things just go wrong. That day I cried during training because there was a lot of emotion. Because of how I was portrayed [after the talk-show incident]. I was never that individual. I was not able to concentrate on my sport because there was a lot of expectation from myself, leave anyone else.”