India on Wednesday commenced their campaign with an eight-wicket victory over Ireland on a drop-in pitch that provided variable bounce and extra seam movement.
“We were told today that within the group we have 892 T20 games, that’s a lot of games.
“So we have a lot of experience, especially in bowling where we have someone like Jasprit Bumrah, who is the number one bowler by far. We have (Mohammed) Siraj, who has been tremendous in recent years,” Hardik said during a chat with the BCCI.TV.
“We have Arshdeep, who has played the last two World Cups and has been quite fantastic and making sure that he keeps getting better.
“There is a lot of experience, lot of honesty within the bowling core group, and the wicket has also helped a lot today (Wednesday),” he added.
The seam-bowling all-rounder expressed the squad’s delight in commencing the competition with a victory.
“We are very happy and very pleased to the kind of start on a good note. It’s very, very important for the rhythm because once the tournament has started, it goes on,” Hardik said.
“It feels very good when you work hard and kind of get some success, and at the same point of time, it’s quite exciting to play here (in America).”
Following the game, Vikram Rathour, the team’s batting coach, expressed that Hardik was prepared to deliver four overs in a single match. The 30-year-old all-rounder had recently been plagued by persistent injuries.
Hardik emphasized that his attention was solely on the task at hand, despite the challenges he had faced in the recent past due to his health issues. The all-rounder’s determination to contribute to the team’s success was evident in his focus and commitment to his role on the field.
“Everything falls into place for people who work hard. And go and spend a lot of time within yourself, identify who you are, back yourself because you know, Hardik at 30 is a much easier job at Hardik at 60,” he said.
“From those days, these days are much, much better, try to find out what exactly are you are trying to figure it out in your skill sets especially. That’s why I just went, bowled a lot of overs, batted a lot of balls, so in that scenario you realise your potential slowly, and that was my focus,” Hardik said.
He was looking forward to India’s big-ticket game against Pakistan on Sunday.
“India-Pakistan has always been very exciting, lot of cheer and buzz, a lot of emotion and a lot of excitement but at the same time, I hope we will be disciplined in that game, one goal as a group is we go and kind of hunt.
“So, if we can do that, I think it will be a nice day for us,” Hardik said.
(With PTI inputs)