Krunal Pandya is an Indian Cricket Player. He is an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls slow left-arm orthodox. He plays for Baroda Cricket Association and in domestic cricket, and for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He made his international debut for the Indian cricket team in November 2018. He is the elder brother of cricketer Hardik Pandya. Both the Pandya brothers have played for the team of Mumbai Indians in the last season of 2016 Indian Premier League. During the season Krunal and Hardik became the first pair of brothers to represent the same side in IPL.
Early Life of Krunal Pandya
Krunal Himanshu Pandya was born on 24th March 1991 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He started off his cricketing journey with the guidance of his father Himanshu. His father had shifted from Surat to Baroda to support his sons in cricketing career. Kiran More has helped and trained Krunal Pandey at the earlier stages free of cost.
Domestic Career of Krunal Pandya
Krunal Pandya made his first-class debut on 6th October 2016, playing for Baroda during the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy tournament. Within the next few months, he became the Leading Run Scorer and Leading Wicket taker for Baroda in 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In 2017, he featured in an India A tri-series victory over South Africa A and Afghanistan A. He was the leading run-scorer for Baroda in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In October 2018, he was named in India A`s squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy.
Krunal Pandya made his IPL debut in April 2016, playing against Gujarat Lions at Wankhede Stadium , Mumbai. In bowling, his first wicket came with the dismissal of Dinesh Karthik, caught in the deep by Harbhajan Singh. He finished bowling his first match with figures of 1/20 in 4 overs. In batting, he scored 20 runs out of 11 balls, which included 3 boundaries (fours). His debut match was thus a creditable success. In January 2018, he played for Mumbai Indians in the 2018 IPL.
International Career of Krunal Pandya
In October 2018, he was named in India"s Twenty20 International (T20I) squads for their tours against the West Indies and Australia. He made his T20I debut for India against the West Indies on 4 November 2018.
Batting and Fielding Averages of Krunal Pandya:
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
| T20Is | 9 | 4 | 2 | 69 | 34.5 | 44 | 156.8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| First-class | 3 | 5 | 0 | 294 | 160 | 58.8 | 434 | 67.74 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| List A | 47 | 45 | 5 | 1308 | 85 | 32.7 | 1591 | 82.21 | 0 | 8 | 127 | 28 | 15 | 0 |
| T20s | 71 | 54 | 16 | 1036 | 86 | 27.26 | 702 | 147.6 | 0 | 2 | 90 | 44 | 25 | 0 |
Bowling Averages of Krunal Pandya:
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
| T20Is | 9 | 9 | 216 | 314 | 10 | Apr-36 | Apr-36 | 31.4 | 8.72 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| First-class | 3 | 5 | 285 | 133 | 8 | Apr-40 | Jun-59 | 16.62 | 2.8 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 47 | 45 | 2088 | 1722 | 52 | Jun-41 | Jun-41 | 33.11 | 4.94 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| T20s | 71 | 68 | 1290 | 1560 | 61 | Apr-36 | Apr-36 | 25.57 | 7.25 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
