India international, Hardik Pandya and his elder brother Krunal have taken this year's Indian Premier League by storm. The siblings are an intrinsic part of the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians squad.
Hardik Pandya, a T20 specialist, was an important member of the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Team India, which had an incredible 2016 before the Vivo IPL kicked off earlier this month. The younger Pandya was at the heart of the Men in Blue's 3-0 triumph over the mighty Australians in Australia earlier this January.
The 22-year-old also had a string of exceptional performances as India went on to register a 2-1 series victory over Sri Lanka and also, its sixth Asia Cup honour since the tournament's inception back in 1983.
Moreover, Hardik Pandya’s incredible final over against Bangladesh during a group stage encounter of the ICC World T20 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore provided a much-needed boost to the ‘Men in Blue', en route to their semi-final finish.
Hardik's elder brother, Krunal Pandya has also managed to make his way into the spotlight after his magnificent over against the Royal Challengers Bangalore last Wednesday. Senior Pandya had managed to pick up the prized wickets of the in-form Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in just a single over to turn the entire match on its head.
In spite of all the success that they have garnered, the Pandya brothers haven't forgotten their past. In a recent interview given to iplt20.com, the duo recollected how they were inspired by the Pathan brothers (Irfan and Yusuf) to take their cricket seriously.
Also read: IPL 2016: Rohit Sharma pleased that Mumbai Indians have found the right balance
“To be honest, the inspiration for us comes from Pathan brothers. They also came from the city (Baroda) where we are from. I have seen Irfan and Yusuf (Pathan) play and wanted to be like them,” said Hardik.
His elder brother Krunal added, “Once we were playing cricket at the U-19 level. We watched them play and I started dreaming that one day we will also play for Baroda together. It's just the beginning for us and we have to go a long way.”
“We've been very lucky that we have always played together. From our childhood, we were dreaming to play together, at a good level. Finally, we're here. We are really happy to represent such a big franchise at the IPL,” the 25-year-old left-arm spinner added.
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