Hardik Pandya and Ashish Nehra have enjoyed playing in each other's company. Who can forget IPL 2022 and 2023, when the former coach-captain pair led Gujarat Titans to the finals – winning one and finishing runner-up the following year? Ever since, Hardik and Nehra have formed a close bond. Even when Hardik returned to the franchise where he began, the Mumbai Indians, Nehra was very understanding and supportive of the decision, saying he never tried to convince Hardik otherwise. Last year, as Hardik's move to come back to MI backfired, with the team finishing bottom under his captaincy, things didn't look too promising. Hardik was booed everywhere he went – home or away. But the one man who stood in his support was Nehra.

It was almost as if Pandya had soaked in all those lessons from Nehra as he sat down and had a word with Ashwani Kumar, Mumbai Indian's hero from the last match. The left-arm pacer picked up 4/24 to pick up the Player of the Match award on debut and helped MI register their first win of IPL 2025. Ashwani picked up the prized wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and Andre Russell as MI thrashed KKR by 8 wickets, but was reminded that it's all a thing of the past by his captain Hardik.

"Be well prepared. Put in all your effort and stick to the plan. Look forward to every game you play. Before every match, I don’t go in with expectations. I just try to execute my preparations. Tujhe success kyu mila? (Why did you get success?) Because you stuck to your plans and kept bowling at the right line and length. You just follow your plan and the rest will follow. Even if you bowl well, you can't guarantee a good result. But you should know that you bowled well. What more can I do? So you have to maintain a balance. You neither have to go up nor come down. You have to stay in the middle," Hardik replied to the youngster after being asked 'what is your mindset before a match'.

Watch the video below:

Hardik Pandya's pep talk to Ashwani Kumar

As captain, Hardik opening up to one of his team's younger players displays a lot of positivity in the team environment, an aspect of the Mumbai Indians that severely came under the scanner last year. Hardik insisted on how important it is to push self-doubt away as the opposition camp already wants to pin Ashwani down. Hardik used all his years of experience playing for MI and India to drill the basics in Ashwin's mind that he may not get the desired result despite putting in his best. Yet, to keep at it, unbothered by the outcome, remains key.

"Another thing that you must not do is doubt yourself. You are here because you are good. If you don’t believe you are the best, already there are 15-20 people in front of you – their fans, support staff – who are against you. Then you won't be able to give yourself a chance. Bowl in the right place, and even then if someone hits you, it’s not a problem. In this sport, you don't get good results everyday. But you have to try to get good results. What is that opportunity? Mindset is ready. That preparation gives you the opportunity to be a little successful. This hard work does not guarantee you success," mentioned Hardik.

"The discipline that you have showed here practicing, show it on the ground too. I've been playing for so many years. Everytime I come here, I do it with a purpose. After achieving it, I wait for the reaction. I don't show off during the match. Don't get carried away. And push yourself every day. To get better at every step. Stay grounded."