Nearly a decade ago, the Indian team had a pair of siblings from Baroda, the Pathan brothers (Irfan and Yusuf), representing the country in the 2007 World T20 final. As things stand, history could repeat itself in the near future as yet another pair of siblings could go on to represent the Men in Blue together.
Such has been the impact that the Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal, have created in the last few months.
Extra cover: 5 things to know about Krunal Pandya
Hardik is already a part of the Indian team, while his elder brother Krunal is making a statement with some consistent performances for Baroda and Mumbai Indians. In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Krunal Pandya discussed various things and just like any other aspiring cricketer, he revealed that his aim is to represent the national team one day.
“Obviously, the ultimate goal is to represent the country. I don’t have any immediate goals. I just want to contribute to my team in whatever tournament I play. I would like to take it match by match, tournament by tournament. If I do well, the rest will take care of itself. My main aim is to do well consistently and represent the country.”
Playing alongside your brother who is also a cricketer is always a blessing in disguise as you can help out each other whenever needed. There is nothing different in Krunal’s case; he thinks he is really lucky to have Hardik alongside him.
“Both me and Hardik have a great bonding because we have played cricket together from the childhood days. It is good that your brother is at the same level and is playing cricket along with you. Both of us always talk about the sport and share different things on how to improve each other’s game. I'm really lucky to have him alongside me,” he stated.
In spite of the fact that Krunal missed seven months of action due to a shoulder injury, which delayed his first-class debut in the 2015-16 season, Mumbai Indians didn’t hesitate to pay him INR 2 crore – 20 times his base price and that of his brother Hardik Pandya’s contract with the same franchise.
But that’s not a surprise, considering the reputation Krunal has set for himself in the limited number of matches he has played for Baroda, which was further enhanced as he made a mark for himself in the IPL.
Straightaway after making his debut, he became an integral part of the Mumbai Indians XI in the 2016 season and impressed everyone with both bat and ball. Unlike his brother Hardik who likes to take on the bowlers right from the word go, Krunal gives himself some time and treats the ball on its merit.
At the same time, he doesn’t shy away from an opportunity to go after the bowling, which is evident from his strike-rate of 152 in the T20 format. In the 2016 IPL, he scored his runs at a rate over 191 runs per 100 balls, and immediately became a fan favourite.
Extra cover: Krunal Pandya might be the all-rounder Indian Cricket needs
His path to success wasn’t easy though. His father had to leave behind a settled business in Surat, a city known for import and export of textiles, jewels etc., and move to Vadodara for his cricket.
“I started playing cricket at the age of six. We were staying in Surat and my dad, who was running a car finance business saw me playing cricket. I was already relishing the challenges of "season ball" cricket, and my father told a local coach about the promise I showed.
“I was later taken to Kiran More's Academy in Vadodara, where More, impressed by what he saw, advised my father to enrol me in his academy. We didn’t have much exposure in Surat. So we had to move to Baroda for my cricket.
“What is amazing is how my father left behind a settled business for a six-year-old boy. It wasn't as if I was on the verge of playing in the Ranji Trophy,” he said.
An all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls slow left-arm, Krunal modelled his game after Yuvraj Singh, who was his favourite cricketer in his childhood. Though he didn’t have any idol when he was young, he tried to enjoy his game and that helped him reach greater heights in the future.
“When I started playing cricket, I was very young and I didn’t know anything about having an idol. All I did was enjoying the game. In my childhood, I was a big fan of Yuvraj Singh and that has a big influence on me becoming an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls slow left-arm,” he added.
When I’m batting, I see myself as a batsman and when I’m bowling, I see myself as a bowler
Krunal is one of the very few domestic cricketers who are equally good with both and ball. He is a valuable addition to any team because he is capable of bowling his quota of overs and scoring some crucial runs with the bat.
He is also very flexible when it comes to batting as he plays the role of an anchor for his domestic team Baroda while he is more of a finisher when it comes to Mumbai Indians. When asked about what he prefers the most, he said,
“To be honest, I work on both the aspects (batting and bowling) and also fielding. Whenever I am batting, I see myself as a batsman and whenever I bowl, I see myself as a bowler.
“I am quite flexible when it comes to my batting order. Eventually, cricket is a team game and not an individual game. Whatever the team requires in a particular match or a tournament, I should be ready to take up the role. For me, I take it as a challenge whether I am batting at no. 3 or batting down the order, and I make sure I succeed.”
In spite of making his T20 and ODI debut for Baroda in 2013 and 2014 respectively, Krunal has played only one first-class match so far. When quizzed about the possibility of leaving first-class cricket and concentrating on limited-over formats, the all-rounder said he’d love to play more FC cricket but was just unlucky to miss out on a majority of the last two seasons due to injuries.
“Why would I say no to playing the first-class format? A couple of years back, I had undergone a shoulder surgery and was out of action for seven months because of which I had to miss the first-class season. Then, I played the 2016 IPL in which I did really well.
"I wanted to carry on my IPL success to the Ranji Trophy and made my debut in the 2016-17 season. Unfortunately, after playing just one match, I injured my quadriceps. It took me 4-5 months to recover and I was forced to miss the FC season again,” he rued.
Krunal made a name for himself in the 2016 IPL in which he scored 237 runs at an average of 40 and a strike-rate of 191, apart from picking 6 wickets at an economy of 7.57. However, that wasn't enough for his team, the defending champions, to reach the playoffs.
In the 2017 season, the fans saw an improved version of Krunal Pandya, who thrived under pressure with both bat and ball.
Particularly notable were his knocks against Royal Challengers Bangalore, when the team was reduced to 11/4, against Kolkata Knight Riders in the second qualifier, when Mumbai lost a few early wickets chasing a low total and the best of all, his 47 in the final against Rising PuneSupergiant which propelled his team to a decent total and eventually to the title.
With a fresh auction set to take place in 2018, the BCCI is yet to announce any retention policy for the teams. If there is any such policy in place, Krunal will be one of the top names his franchise would want to retain for the eleventh edition.
Extra cover: I feel I am an all-rounder and need to contribute, says Krunal Pandya
He was also grateful to Mumbai Indians for giving him a breakthrough while admitting that his retention is not in his hands and that he will happily accept whatever comes his way.
"Mumbai Indians gave me a lot of recognition. Without them, the fans wouldn’t have been aware of who Krunal Pandya is and how he plays. Without a doubt, the franchise has played a big role in my career and (I am) indebted to them for having such a big influence in my career.
"I haven’t thought about that. The 2017 edition got over just a few days back and the BCCI is yet to announce the number of players a team can retain. So it’s not in my hands. Whatever comes my way, I will go with that," he said.
Taking AB de Villiers' wicket on four consecutive occasions is simply amazing
While most bowlers fear bowling to AB de Villiers, Krunal has an excellent record against the Proteas batsman; he has dismissed him on four occasions in four matches. He believes that bowling to someone like AB is very challenging and that if he gets hit, there is nothing to worry given the reputation of the right-hander.
However, if he gets his wicket, it is like a dream, as AB is his favourite player at the moment.
“l like facing challenges and it is a huge challenge when you are bowling to such a legend. At the same time, while bowling to a player like AB, you have nothing to lose. To be honest, I have no pressure when I bowl to him because I know if he hits me, then it’s okay because his reputation is such, but, if I take his wicket, that is like a dream for me.
"He is also one of my favourite cricketers at the moment and to get his wicket on four consecutive occasions is simply amazing. I haven’t figured out how to bowl at him. What I like to do is to vary my pace, vary my line and length and make sure that I don’t give away some easy balls to hit irrespective of who the batsman is.
"I did the same thing to AB and luckily, I came out victorious on all the occasions,” he quipped.
Krunal has already gained a big fan following with his performances and if he continues to maintain the consistency and work hard on his game, he could be representing India in the near future. Even the 26-year-old is aware of this and is putting in a lot of efforts to improve his game.
"I always think that scope of improvement is always there and it's not just in one aspect. I will make sure that I improve my game every single day. There is no particular area in which I should improve. I have a lot of things to work on in all the three aspects (batting, fielding and bowling). It has got better for sure.
"Whatever I have achieved was because of the hard work I did in the last couple of years. It is still the beginning and I have to maintain my consistency and the way I am playing right now if I want to play for the country, he concluded.
As we have seen in the IPL, Krunal is equally good with bat and ball and enjoys playing under pressure. There is no doubting his skills as he has every single weapon in his armoury to excel in International cricket.
It is just a matter of time before we see a set of brothers from the Pandya household in Ahmedabad playing together for the Indian team. A lot of potential has been showed by the two, and the fans would hope that they win India matches for a long time to come.
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