Want to make comeback to the Indian side, quite happy how I have done for the country, opines Krunal Pandya

Want to make comeback to the Indian side, quite happy how I have done for the country, opines Krunal Pandya

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Krunal Pandya celebrating a wicket

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Krunal Pandya, who last played for India in December 2019, is quite keen on making a return back to the national side as he feels he had done a good job for the Men in Blue, in what matches he played. After four wicketless games against South Africa and Bangladesh, he was dropped from the side. 

One of the most talented all-rounders to have emerged from the IPL, Krunal Pandya had become a permanent member of the T20I side especially after his great performances in Australia and New Zealand respectively. He had played a key role in India's victories in Sydney and Eden Park in late 2018 and early 2019 respectively winning Man-of-the-Match awards on both the occasions. 

But his fortunes changed for the bad starting from the 2019 home T20Is against South Africa, where he conceded 47 runs in 4.5 overs in the series, followed by another miserable series versus Bangladesh, where he gave away 49 runs in six overs, again going wicketless and since then he hasn't played for India. He was also adjudged Player-of-the-Series for his excellent performance in India's 3-0 whitewash over West Indies in 2019.

The Mumbai all-rounder and elder Pandya brother announced that he wants to make a comeback to the Indian side and feels he did very well be it against New Zealand, Australia, or West Indies when he represented the country at the highest level. Given his good bowling in the present season for Mumbai Indians, the southpaw feels that a comeback might be around the corner. 

“I want to make a comeback to the Indian side I’ve played 18 games in about a year. And I did quite well. I got MoM in New Zealand, in Australia and got the Man of the Series against West Indies. In batting also, I was quite happy with whatever I had done while playing for India. The way the season is going, I’m looking forward to making a comeback,” Krunal told Hindustan Times. 

Krunal Pandya also stated that he feels it's not about big runs or wickets only but more about the impact a performance can have on the game when it comes to the shortest format. 

“It’s not about wickets only. Sometimes if you bowl 2 overs for 12 runs in T20s, that is gold. I have never thought about scoring those big runs. T20 is all about impactful performances. If you bowl 1 good over or bat six balls well then you can change the momentum of the game,” said Krunal.

Krunal has played 18 games for India, scalping 14 wickets at an economy of 8.11. With the bat in hand, the left-hander averaged 24.20 for his 121 runs in nine innings at a strike-rate of 131.52.

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