Praveen Kumar questioned Pandya's fitness around IPL

I have to come up with a better version of myself: pANDYA

I treat World Cups as my child: Hardik Pandya

While the controversy surrounding Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan’s absence in domestic tournaments was taking place, questions had also arisen over Hardik Pandya. Former Indian pacer Praveen Kumar had remarked that Hardik Pandya surprisingly regains fitness when the Indian Premier League (IPL) is nearing. 

Hardik Pandya has however reasoned that his attempt is to ensure that his best version is available for the T20 World Cup. “It is such a beautiful thing. I am so much aware of my body because of it. I had never tried it before in my life. My point is always simple – If I go out, what is the point of coming back as the same Hardik? I have to come up with a better version of myself. And my reason for taking this long break was not IPL. It is just one part of it. Post IPL, there is a bigger baby which is coming again, the World Cup. And I treat World Cups as my child. As many times as I can try and make sure that I get them back I’ll try. And this entire period of preparation is that if the end goal is to play the T20 World Cup at the best capacity and be the best version of myself,” Pandya said in an interaction with Star Sports.