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Biography

A true blue IPL star, Krunal Pandya, remains one of the most sought-after names in the IPL. Left-handed and hard hitting with the bat, added to his left-arm spin puts him in a similar league of lower-order all-rounders, as that of his younger brother, Hardik Pandya.

Hailing from Vadodara, Krunal's first brush with cricket came at Kiran More's academy in the city. He soon became popular in the local cricketing circles for his ability to hit the big sixes, forming a partnership with Hardik that reminded the cricket watching folks in the city of the Pathan brothers. In 2016, despite not having made his first-class debut yet, the Mumbai Indians' talent scouts spotted his talent and franchise went after him aggressively to bag him for two crores.

He repaid the faith thrust on him immediately, with a stunning knock of 86 off just 37 deliveries against Delhi Daredevils. In the following season, he came into his own - with vital runs and wickets very consistently - to become one of Mumbai's most utility players of the season. This included a Man of the Match effort in the final. 2017's IPL though was only a culmination of a good domestic season, where he emerged as Baroda's leading run-getter and wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The selectors were quick to notice and called him up for India A's tri-series against South Africa A and Afghanistan A. The true reflection of his stocks however came at the 2018 IPL auctions, where teams took his price up 22 times from his base price to a whopping 8.8 crores, which the Mumbai Indians were happy to use their 'Right To Match' card for.

Given India's quest to find a settled all-rounder for the number six spot in ODIs, Krunal offers a potent choice, especially ahead of the 2019 World Cup. The national selectors too seemed to have him in the frame, awarding him with a T20I cap against the touring Windies in October, 2018 and he impressed immediately with his cricketing brain to out-think his opponents - as evidenced in his second series, a tour to Australia, where he came back with a four-fer in a Man of the Match performance after being carted around for 55 runs in the earlier match.

IPL through the years

Would Krunal Pandya be the same recognizable force he is today, if not for that belligerent 86 off 37 balls against Delhi Daredevils that shot him to the limelight in his debut IPL season in 2016? Would his bowling carry the same weight, if he hadn't had the wood over a genius like AB de Villiers in their IPL duels? Highly doubtful. But there's no doubting the impact that the left-handed all-rounder has had in the Mumbai Indians set-up.

Picked for an eye-catching INR 2 crores in the IPL auctions at a time when he was a relative unknown, Krunal soon managed to carve his own identity in a team where his younger brother, Hardik Pandya, was already an India international. He finished his maiden season in 2016 with 237 runs from 9 innings at a strike-rate of 191.12, while doing a reasonable job with his left-arm spin.

His bowling had become a lot more tactful as he proved to be difficult to hit in the 2017 season, and went at under 7 an over in the 13 matches he played. One of those matches was the final against Pune Supergiant, in which Krunal delivered a Man of the Match performance with the bat, scoring 47 to lift a reeling Mumbai from 79/7 to a score of 129 which eventually proved enough.

The value Krunal brought to the team was recognized in the 2018 auctions where Mumbai exercised their RTM card for INR 8.8 crores, and although his performance in the following season wasn't spectacular, it was very reliable yet again with an economy of just over 7 with the ball, and a strike-rate of 145.22 with the bat.


Written by - Vineet Anantharaman