Kept Dad's Bag In The Dressing Room So He Stays With Us Always: Krunal Pandya

India’s bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya enjoyed an unforgettable ODI debut on Tuesday as he made a vital contribution towards their victory against England. A plethora of emotions had engulfed Krunal Pandya throughout the match in the memory of his father, who passed away recently. The 29-year old revealed that he and Hardik kept their dad’s bag in the dressing room, which always reminds them of him.

Krunal Pandya raised a 26-ball 50 on Tuesday, becoming the fastest half-century maker to do so in debut. The Baroda-born cricketer shared an unbroken century stand with KL Rahul to lift India to an imposing 317 after it appeared that the hosts would fall well short. Pandya felt so emotional that he could not speak to the broadcasters after the mid-innings break and departed speechless. He took one wicket in the second innings as India beat England by 66 runs.

Krunal Pandya revealed that he has not been working about the results but how to become the best version of himself and become a good human being. The 29-year old conceded that all this success has been a result of his hard work and the blessings which are always with him. Pandya recalled the day when their father passed away and he was playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The all-rounder wanted to preserve the bag in the Indian team’s dressing room – a bag in which their dad had everything kept ready.

“I have not been working thinking about the results, lately my focus has been on how can I be the best version of myself and how I can improve as a human being. The only constant focus is on how I can myself the best possible opportunity. This is the result that I have got, there is a lot of hard work that has gone behind it. Blessings are there, I feel more secure. Our father passed away on the 16th morning, I was playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Our father had a habit of keeping everything ready, his shoes, his pant, and his hat. Before this game, I got my dad’s bag here, I know he is not with us, I thought I’ll bring his bag and keep it with us in the dressing room,” Krunal told Hardik in a video posted by the BCCI.

This is all dedicated to the old man: Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya dedicated his maiden ODI cap to his dad and knows that his blessings are always with him, no matter what. Krunal, who got his ODI cap from his brother Hardik, conceded that it was an emotional moment and predicted that his father must be having a good night’s sleep, given the way he played.

“This is all dedicated to the old man, his blessings are there with us, and obviously it was very emotional – for you and me, both of us – and again, getting the cap from you, and I guess somewhere down the line, up there, he must be having a good night today, and enjoying the way I batted. So yeah, this is for him,” he added.

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