Getting dropped from Baroda U-25 side a career-changing moment, recalls Krunal Pandya
Mumbai Indians all-rounder and brother of Hardik, Krunal Pandya recalled how getting dropped from Baroda’s U-25 side after playing a rash shot helped him turn his career around. Krunal has since come a long way, becoming a mainstay in the Mumbai Indians XI while also making his national debut.
When Krunal Pandya made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2016, he was a rather unknown entity, despite his brother Hardik, by then, already having established himself as one of the trump-cards of the Indian team. Krunal has since been a part of multiple IPL winning campaigns and has represented India in 18 T20Is, establishing himself as one of the more handy, street-smart cricketers in the country.
However, like his brother, his journey, too, was a rough one and the 29-year-old recalled an incident from his younger days that he felt helped him self-realize and turn his career around.
"It was a career-changing moment for me. We were playing an Under-25 game for Baroda against Karnataka, and on the final day, we had to save the game. On the second ball, I played a sweep shot and I got out and subsequently got dropped. After I went home, I wept my eyes out,” Krunal told Cricbuzz.
"It suddenly dawned upon me that I had failed my parents. I had a moment of self-reflection and decided to cast out all the jealousy and toxicity out of my life. It was when my thought process towards life changed that things started falling into place.”
Like several domestic cricketers, the left-arm spinner, too, had a backup government job - in his case, with the Speedpost - but Pandya recalled how he tore the offer letter to instead attend the trials of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Eventually, the all-rounder excelled in the trial and he was then scooped up by former India coach John Wright, who scouted and brought both the Pandya brothers to the Mumbai Indians franchise.
"I worked hard for two and a half years, not for the government job. I worked for cricket. So I tore up the letter.
“It so happened that I performed in the trial games, and managed to make it to the Baroda team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. And coincidentally John Wright scouted us (Krunal and Hardik) in Mumbai and that was our ticket to the Mumbai Indians.”