Internet Desk: It will be rare moment when the Pandya siblings – Krunal and Hardik take the field together for defending champions Mumbai Indians in IPL 9. Hardik who have been part of the Nita Ambani owned franchise, rose to prominence after a good show in IPL 2015 which saw him earn a place in the national team. Hardik’s elder brother Krunal was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 2 crore. It will be first time in the history of the Indian Premier League when two brothers will play (depend upon the MI team management) for the same franchise. The Pathan brothers (who also hail from Baroda) Irfan and Yusuf have been playing in the competition since 2008. However, the Pathan brothers never got to play in the same team.
The story of the Pandya brothers is quite interesting. Their love affair with cricket began in the mid-’90s, when they were still in Surat. Their father, Himanshu who ran a successful car-finance business in Surat shut it down to settle in Vadodara where he took his two sons to Kiran More’s academy.
Krunal, who bats and bowls left-handed, was more talented among the two. He has been a regular with the state side for different age groups. Krunal was a key member for Baroda which won the Syed Mustaq Ali trophy two years back. But a serious injury in his shoulder kept him away from competitive cricket until he was roped in by the Mumbai franchise at the auction following his impressive show at the DY Patil T20 tournament.
Hardik also had some rough times in his journey to the Indian team. The talented youngster had to miss out two years in U’16 level as he refused to perform the ball boy duties for an India-Australia match owing to his school exams. He was also on the verge of being dropped again in his last year at the U-19 level. The assistant coach of the U-19 team and three other senior players had to plead with the selectors for Hardik’s inclusion, and he showed his gratitude by smashing big hundreds. It was never looking back for him since.
Krunal was excited to be part of the Mumbai Indians squad along with Hardik as he talked over the phone from Mumbai.
“It will be great to play alongside Hardik. We get along each other as friends from our U’13 days. So it will be fun if I get an opportunity to play with him in the course of the tournament.”
Hardik too feel his brother got rewarded for his perseverance and hard work.
“He got his reward for his perseverance. Had he not picked up an injury, he would have surely played for any franchise by now,” said Hardik to Xtra Time.
“There will be no competition among us. Hardik has made a mark of himself in the international stage. I am not too worried about getting an opportunity or not, neither will I feel jealous about it. Since we grew up playing together, there is always a bonding between us.”
The cricket world will sit down together for the next 55 days and take a notice of the Pandya brothers whether they can match the other illustrious siblings from Baroda- the Pathan brothers.