Srinagar: Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya has issued a clarification on taking long break after World Cup 2023 injury.
Pandya who joined Mumbai from Gujarat Titans this season in a team to team trade has been on sidelines since 2023 World Cup due to injury.
Former India cricketer Praveen Kumar had alleged that Pandya kept himself on sidielines for long due to big money IPL.
However, Hardik has broken his silence on the matter as he explained why he took a look break after the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he had twisted his ankle.
Speaking to Star Sports ahead of the start of IPL 2024, Hardik opened up on doing more of yoga during the break.
“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 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,” he said.