Krunal Pandya might be the all-rounder Indian Cricket needs
Krunal Himanshu Pandya, born on 24 March 1991, is an Indian origin cricketer who made his debut for Baroda in domestic cricket. He has been a successful all-rounder – a left-hand batsman and he bowls slow left-arm orthodox.
The 25-year-old is the elder brother of Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya. The major teams he has played for so far are Baroda Cricket Association XI, Baroda Under-15s, Baroda Under-17s, Baroda Under-19s, and Mumbai Indians.
Krunal, who idolizes Yuvraj Singh, was inspired to play the game when his father Himanshu took the Pandya brothers to the stadium in Vadodara, when the cricket carnival was on in town. They started their cricket training at Kiran More’s academy in the city.
The all-rounder who is known as a limited-overs specialist, made his T20 debut for Baroda on 26 March 2013 against Bengal at Indore. Since then, he has scored 400 T20 runs in 17 innings, averaging 33.33 and managing a strike-rate of 165.28, which includes the highest score of 86.
He has been great even with the ball, taking 22 wickets in 24 innings, with best bowling figures of 3/25 and an economy under 7.
Also read: 5 things to know about Krunal Pandya of Mumbai Indians
Krunal made his List A debut for Baroda versus Gujarat at Ahmedabad, on 8 November 2014. He has a strike-rate of 105.35, having scored 59 runs in three innings at an average of 19.66. He has also picked up five wickets in four games, at an economy of 5.35, with best figures of 2/42.
In spite of not having played competitive cricket since March 2015 due to a labral tear in his shoulder, which required surgery, his impressive figures in domestic cricket got the youngster a contract with Mumbai Indians at the 2016 Indian Premier League auctions, where he was bought for a generous INR 2 crore.
Krunal Pandya made his IPL debut against Gujarat Lions on 16 April at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He finished with figures of 1 for 20 in four overs, and remained not out on 20 from 11.
Pandya has been an extremely significant all-rounder for Mumbai in this season of the IPL. He has brilliant figures with the bat, scoring 233 runs in 11 matches, including the top score of 86, averaging 46.60 and striking at 192.56.
He has been equally important with the ball, picking up six wickets this season, at an economy of 7.13, and best bowling figures of 2/15.
The youngster has come-in handy at the most crucial times for Mumbai, like in the game against Delhi Daredevils on 15 May. When the Delhi batters struggled to find the middle of the bat, he played a tremendous knock of 86 from 37, smashing six sixes and seven fours.
His quick-fire knock enabled Mumbai to set up an above par total of 206, and Mumbai won the match by a good 80 runs!
Krunal Pandya has a great chance to play for India in the Zimbabwe tour
Indian spinners have struggled for form this year. It was evident during India’s tour of Australia, where Ravindra Jadeja failed to pick up wickets, managing just 5 scalps in four games, and his poor form continued in the T20 World Cup, where he finished with 4 wickets in 5 games.
Even MS Dhoni’s go-to spinner, R.Ashwin has not been at his best recently, ending the World T20 with just four wickets, while he was also dropped from the starting XI on more occasions than one during the Australia tour.
Dhoni has always expressed his desire for having bowling all-rounders in the Indian setup, who can pick wickets while also proving handy with the bat lower down the order whenever required. Krunal’s brother, Hardik, who filled in the slot of the bowling all-rounder, has struggled for form in this season’s IPL and has also been left out of the Mumbai Indians team.
Pandya has the ability to perform with the bat and ball in crucial situations, and his good form has arrived at the right time, as the 25-year-old has a great possibility of making it to the Indian squad, when they tour Zimbabwe early next month, and achieve his dream of playing in India’s Blue jersey.
The big names of the Indian team – Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan – are most probably going to be rested for the short series, where India is scheduled to play three ODI’s and two T20 Internationals.
The left-hander will provide a perfect balance in the team, and will be a valuable addition to the Indian side which lacks a good batting all-rounder.
With the senior players being rested for the tour of Zimbabwe, it will be an excellent platform for Krunal to showcase his skills, and perhaps secure a place among the Men in Blue even for the future games.
Krunal has received praises from the greatest in the cricketing fraternity, here are some of the tweets: