Hardik Pandya opened up on playing without fans, his preparation for the upcoming IPL and protocols laid by Mumbai Indians amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has said that the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League will be a "stress relief" for fans across the country. The IPL will mark the return of Indian cricketers to action, and will also be the only second T20 tournament after Caribbean Premier League to take place post the coroavirus outbreak.
Pandya, who plays for Mumbai Indians, has said that while it won't be "much different" for him to play without the presence of fans in the stadium, the tournament in itself would provide people with much-needed distraction in such a stressful period.
"It will be a different experience, but we have all played Ranji Trophy without fans and T20 cricket without fans. So, for me, as a cricketer, only thing we focus on when we go in is the ball, or the player or whatever is happening with the XI players. Obviously the fans add to the cheering part and the support, but for us when we are playing, we don't see much difference," Pandya said in an interview with ANI.
"For me, I don't think much will be different as we have played in the past without fans. Me and my brother were talking during the Covid time and we were discussing that for the fans, the IPL will be a cherry because no one has seen cricket for a while and people have been in difficult times.
"So this will be a stress relief for everyone as they will sit at 8 pm and watch the IPL for two months. So, everyone will get that satisfaction that something nice is happening. The fans will enjoy it."
Hardik Pandya had been away from international action ever since the T20I series against South Africa in September last year. He was set to make a comeback with the ODI series against the same side in March, but the tour was called off midway due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Pandya insisted that he is "more excited than nervous" as he had been away from action for a long time now.
"More excited than nervous because a good 10 months I have been training and looking forward to play so the portion where the nervousness comes or the pressure comes has gone away. I am just more excited to be on the field and implement what I have worked on with regards to my training part, the practice sessions," said the all-rounder.
"Luckily we made a gym in the house and due to COVID-19 we weren't allowed to go out of the house so we focused and realised a lot of things that we can improve more. Because of all that hard work and preparation and thought process, it is just that I am very excited to implement what I have worked on," he explained.
"To be honest, I look after my back now as well. But it is just that if I was 7/10 fit before, now with the back surgery and all, if I want to be same or better than before, I had to increase my fitness one level. Throughout the Covid period and even before that, I was focusing to ensure that if without surgery I was at a level with my fitness, I had to be one level up."
On the bio-secure bubble in the UAE, Pandya said that the arrangements made by Mumbai Indians are top-notch, adding that it allows the cricketers to focus only on cricket.
The all-rounder further said that MI are "one of the best franchise" any player can be in.
"For me it is just simple. Follow what the health officials say and follow what the team management says. I let the professionals do their work and if they say that we should look after certain things, I think we should just follow that and be on track," said Pandya.
"I realised one thing during this seven days of isolation that we have all been working hard for a long time. But one person can ruin everyone's hard work over the last 3-4 months. So, we are only focusing on cricket right now because MI is taking care of the rest.
"I feel we are in one of the best franchise which any player can be in. I know a lot of things have happened with other franchises, but the way MI have looked after us, the way they have followed the protocols, our testing started 20 days before we were even planning to fly. So, for us, we didn't feel that scared as we had the MI management looking after that factor and we were only focusing on our game. Credit goes to MI for that," he pointed.
"Back of the mind we have to clear one thing out that we have to get back to cricket. Obviously follow the protocols and from the mind frame point of view, we have to get back and focus on the game. Lots of things will be going around, but as cricketers we will have to focus on our sport because we are here to play and enjoy."
