[Watch] Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya play cricket to tune of ‘Main Khiladi Tu Anadi’ ahead of IPL 2023
Hardik Pandya and his elder brother Krunal Pandya are spending quality time with each other ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).
In a video uploaded to Instagram on Friday (March 10), the two brothers were seen playing cricket at home.
Krunal captioned the post:
“Pandya house ma masti.”
Hardik recently guided Team India to a 2-1 win in the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in January. The 29-year-old only plays in T20Is and ODIs. He's not part of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy and last played a Test against England in 2018.
Meanwhile, Krunal last represented Baroda during the Vijay Hazare Trophy in November 2022.
The two players will next be in action in IPL 2023. Hardik will lead defending champions Gujarat Titans, while Krunal will play for Lucknow Super Giants. The duo were retained for ₹15 and ₹8.25 crore, respectively.
Hardik will look for another breakthrough season with GT. He amassed 487 runs and scalped eight wickets in 15 games last year.
Krunal, meanwhile, scalped ten wickets and contributed 183 runs in 14 games as LSG reached the Eliminators. The 31-year-old will look to impress with his all-round performance in a bid to make a Team India comeback. He last played for the national side against Sri Lanka in July 2021.
As far as IPL 2023 is concerned, GT will play their season opener against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 31.
Meanwhile, LSG will begin their campaign against Delhi Capitals on April 1.
It’s worth mentioning that the two brothers will face off on April 22 and May 7 during the IPL 2023 group stage.
GT and LSG squads for IPL 2023
Gujarat Titans
Players bought - Kane Williamson (₹2 crore), Odean Smith (₹50 lakh), KS Bharat (₹1.2 crore), Shivam Mavi (₹6 crore), Urvil Patel (₹20 lakh), Joshua Little (₹4.4 crore), Mohit Sharma (₹50 lakh)
Players retained - Hardik Pandya (captain), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad
Lucknow Super Giants
Players bought - Nicholas Pooran (₹16 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (₹50 lakh) Yash Thakur (₹45 lakh), Romario Shepherd (₹50 lakh), Daniel Sams (₹75 lakh), Amit Mishra (₹50 lakh), Prerak Mankad (₹20 lakh), Swapnil Singh (₹20 lakh), Naveen-ul-Haq (₹50 lakh), Yudhvir Charak (₹20 lakh)
Players retained - KL Rahul (captain), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi