Ahead of their much-anticipated clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya has advised franchise newcomer Ashwani Kumar not to get carried away. He emphasized that Ashwani must continue to work hard and stick to his plans during the match.
The 23-year-old impressed on his IPL debut against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), returning with bowling figures of 4 for 24 at Wankhede.
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"Don't get carried away. You have to come here every day and push yourself to do your best at every step," Pandya told Ashwani in a candid chat during the practice session.
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Na aasman pe jaana hai, na zameen ke andar jaana hai. (You should neither be overconfident nor underconfident). You have to stay grounded.
"You bowled very well in the last match; continue this in the next match. It doesn't mean that you have to delve so deeply that if you don't bowl well even once, your whole world falls apart. Keep doing the right thing with hard work and execute your plans. We'll have lots of fun during the match."
The MI skipper also shared his secret to success.
"Be well prepared. Put in all your effort and stick to your plan. Look forward to every game you play. Before every game, I don't go in with any expectations; I just try to execute my preparation.
"You can bowl well, but even if you do, you can't guarantee a good result. But you should know that you've bowled well. What more can I do? So, you have to maintain a balance. You neither have to go too high nor too low. You have to stay in between.
"Another thing you must not do is doubt yourself. You are here because you are good. Secondly, if you don't believe that you are the best and that you will succeed, already the opposition has 15-20 players, their support staff, their followers, and they are already against you. Then you won't be able to give yourself a chance. Bowl the ball in the right place; even if someone hits you from there, it's not a problem, but I will bowl in the right areas.
"I have been playing for so many years. Every time I come here, I come with a purpose. After achieving my purpose, I wait for the reaction. I try to execute what I have perfected during practice during the match."
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