MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya
MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya (Credits: Twitter)

MS Dhoni holds a special place in the life of Hardik Pandya. The ace allrounder made his ODI and T20I debut under Dhoni only and is now an indispensable part of the team across formats. Hardik Pandya has never shied away from heaping praise on the former India skipper and has done it once again while also revealing a priceless advise given to him by the 38-year old.

With Hardik Pandya still trying to establish himself as the best in the world, MS Dhoni gave him the mantra that could help him succeed. Dhoni is one of the best if not the best finisher the game has ever witnessed and Pandya too is trying to play the same role for India. Speaking to India Today, Hardik Pandya revealed Dhoni advised him to always keep the team’s interest ahead of his and things will start falling in place.

“MS told me once, that if you want to get rid off the pressure of your own pressure then stop looking at your score on the scoreboard. Put the team in front and you will never feel the pressure. To be honest, since then I have never felt that kind of pressure that I used to feel earlier,” Hardik Pandya said.

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Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya. Credit: Getty Images

The mantra from Rahul Dravid:

Hardik Pandya also revealed a piece of advice he received from former India captain and India A coach Rahul Dravid. The allrounder recalled the time when Dravid made him understand that “there is no such thing as natural game”.

“I actually started learning one thing from Rahul Dravid. I have started picking the right balls. There was an India A meeting after the 2015 World Cup, I was picked for Zimbabwe series, I was not there on the India tour to Australia as well. I also had a bad IPL.

“So what happened was, I was with the Baroda state team. I got a call from BCCI, saying I might have to fly to Australia as Vijay Shankar has got an injury or something. So I went there and in a meeting someone said that I am going to play my natural game. So, Rahul Dravid did not agree to that and said there is no (such) thing as natural game.

“If you want to to be a smart cricketer, you have to play according to the situation. If you are 50 for 5 and you go out and get out while trying to hit a six and then say later that I was just playing my natural game then it is foolish. There is nothing natural, it is all situation based cricket,” said Hardik Pandya.

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The allrounder, meanwhile, has not played for India since September 2019 due to a back injury. He has recovered from the injury and is nearing a return to action.

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