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Hardik's BIG goal This Year...

October 18, 2022 12:46 IST

IMAGE: Hardik Pandya wants to take his fielding to the next level. Photograph: Francois Nel/Getty Images

Hardik Pandya revealed he is working towards becoming an 'exceptional' fielder and his target this year is to take one of his 'best ever' catches.

'God has been kind to me, my fitness has gone up. I am able to spend a lot of time on my fielding with our coach (T Dillip),' India's star all-rounder told bcci.tv.

'I was always natural as a fielder, but I want to be exceptional. Now, I am able to spend some time on my skills and get those difficult catches,' Hardik added.

'The Hardik that I knew used to dive around and stop the balls. My goal this year is to grab a catch that could go down as one of my best ever,' Pandya promosed after an indifferent day in the field during the T20 World warm-up game against Australia at the Gabba on Monday when he scored just five runs and went wicketless, conceding 29 runs in three overs.

Hardik said he is happy with the time spent in the middle with the bat in the practice game against Western Australia in Perth, when he scored 27.

'It was not about the runs, but rather about my approach towards the game and what the situation was like and how I adapted to it. I played 21 balls with the middle of the bat. It was positive from a practice game point of view,' he stated.

Arriving in Australia early, Hardik said, would help the Indian players get used to the conditions ahead of the T20 World Cup.

'If you can get that early in the season, early in the tournament, you can score a lot of runs after getting used to conditions,' he explained. 'Also as a fast bowler, you can exploit the conditions after adapting to it.'

 
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