IPL 2025: MI Captain Hardik Pandya Inspires Young Players with 'Believe in Yourself' Message
The 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season is now just a couple of days away, and Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya revealed that his advice to the youngsters entering the ten-team competition was to simply have faith in themselves and remain even-keel during the ups and downs.
"The young players coming into the IPL are extremely talented. My message to them is simple believe in yourself. They are here because they are good enough, but the biggest challenge at this point is self-doubt. At times, players begin doubting if they are at the right level, and that brings down their skill set".
"Getting around that mental component is what's important. What I can provide them are the things I've learned in all these years. In this sport, there will be up and downs. The important thing is not to lose balance, not only for one season but for their whole career. Being neutral will be able to help them make the most out of every opportunity and grab pivotal moments".
"They will get very challenging tests, but sometimes all they need is a little bit of patience. Skill-wise, they are light years ahead of where we were at 21 or 22. Their talent and bold attitude are already in place it's just a matter of giving them confidence in themselves", said Pandya to JioHotstar.
MI, bottom of the points table in IPL 2024, begin their 2025 season against five-time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai on March 23, then head to Ahmedabad to take on Gujarat Titans (GT), a side Pandya led to victory in the 2022 season, on March 29.
Pandya went on to discuss the role of grit and perseverance in a cricketer's life as one goes through the different stages of a playing career, sharing personal experiences. "For me, it has been always about never leaving the field of battle. There have been periods in my career where my mind was not so much about winning but about surviving and staying put".
I understood that regardless of what was going on around me, cricket would always be my best friend it was my ticket forward. I continued to persevere, and when all the hard work at last bore fruit, it was more than I could have scripted.
Last season was a roller-coaster period for Pandya – from being booed by fans while captaining MI in IPL 2024 to being an integral part of India's T20 World Cup and the recent Champions Trophy victory.
"The six-month period when we won the World Cup, and then the sort of love and affection I got on coming back—it was a full 360-degree shift for me.". During that period, I knew that if I kept pushing, being honest to my work, and delivering my best, I would emerge stronger. I did not know when that would be, but they say destiny has its plan, and in my case, everything changed in the span of two and half months", he added.
