‘I will have good days and bad days’: Hardik Pandya opens up on his successful return after back injury

Ever since his return, Pandya has been India's second highest run-scorer in T20Is. The all-rounder has accumulated 436 runs at an average of 36.33 and a strike rate of 151.38. Apart from his batting he has also chipped in with 12 wickets to bring crucial balance to the squad.

Hardik Pandya will be one of the Indian star to watch out for at the T20 World Cup, where India is scheduled to kick-off their campaign against arch rivals Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday. Ever since his return to competitive cricket, following a back injury, Pandya has showed immense progress, which also include an Indian Premier League glory in his maiden stint as a captain.

Hardik Pandya bowls during the warm-up match between Australia and India (AFP)

He has replicated the same in international cricket and many ex-cricketers have predicted him to hold maximum impact at the World Cup in Australia.

In a conversation before leaving for the World Cup, Pandya spoke in length about his return and attributed his success to the positivity he felt because of his surroundings.

"It has to do a lot with helping myself to go back to the basics and approaching everything on a positive note," Pandya said. "Because of that I have got peace in my life looking at the brighter side always. I know I will have good days and bad days but the positivity comes from the hard work that I put in, which then gives me the self-belief and confidence to give it everything. And with the support of my family to always have my back, I feel a sense of complete focus and positivity around me."

Ever since his return, Pandya has been India's second highest run-scorer in T20Is. The all-rounder has accumulated 436 runs at an average of 36.33 and a strike rate of 151.38. Apart from his batting he has also chipped in with 12 wickets to bring crucial balance to the squad.

While Pandya has always worked doubly hard to get fitter, he credited his family for allowing him to go one step further during the last year or so.

"This time the difference was that my family played a big role in terms of letting me be myself. More than anything, letting me have my own time to realize what exactly I want for myself," he said. "The credit goes to Natasha, Agastya, Krunal - everyone kind of allowed me to maintain my routine and made sure [to realize] that you know what, Hardik right now should focus on himself and he should keep himself as a priority. And because of that, I was able to understand a lot of things which I had kind of forgotten over the years while playing because there are certain things you don’t write down, it just happens. But because of the support from my family I was able to know this without again experiencing - it was just remembering that, okay, at that point of time I used to feel this, this point of time I used to feel this," he said.