Hardik credits his family for keeping him in the 'right space'

Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Hardik Pandya spoke about the importance of mental health while playing international cricket and credits his family for keeping him in the right space throughout. "When I play international cricket, mentally I realised because the kind of pressure that came into your life. Obviously, life changes for us, but as an individual, you need to cope with all the things," Hardik said in a video posted by Mumbai Indians on its official Twitter handle.

"So for me, I realised that mental health is also important, where my family played a big role to make sure that I am in the right space."

The focus on mental health has increased further, given that the players spend long periods of time in a bio-secure bubble, during these tough times, which keeps them away from their family. As a result, the players are restricted only to hotels and stadiums. Hardik, who has played 119 matches for India, on the occasion of world health day said, "Just making sure that in the day, you are doing some activity which is adding to your fitness, that's very important. And if you look after small things, it's going to be grateful that it is going to look after your body."

Hardik's brother Krunal, who recently made his India ODI debut against England, said he also works hard for "inner happiness and peace". "When we work hard, we work hard for that inner happiness, that inner peace where you can sleep for eight hours, you can laugh for 4-5 hours," said Krunal, who also played T20s for India and has been a vital part of Mumbai Indians.

Mumbai Indians spinners Rahul Chahar and Anukul Roy also spoke on the importance of physical fitness. "From the time I started playing, as a child, it was clear how important physical health is," said Chahar.

Roy said: "Maintaining a proper diet is essential, and following the diet is always going to be beneficial." 

Defending champions MI take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2021 opener on Friday (April 9) in Chennai.

(With inputs from PTI)