IPL 2018: Krunal Pandya was certain to see Mumbai Indians exercising RTM Card

Highly-impressive all-rounder Krunal Pandya is delighted after Mumbai Indians decided to continue with the exciting talent for the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he was picked in the squad on the first day (Saturday) of the two-day auction in Bengaluru.

Krunal, who recently got married reiterated he was aiming to represent Indians, while showing the anxious signs during the auction when his name was picked later on January 27 before auctioneer Richard Madley announced while striking the famous gavel.

“I was worried because my turn came later in the auction. That was when I felt I may not go for a high price. The biggest thing is that I wanted to play for MI only,” Krunal was quoted as saying by the mid-day news.

The left-handed batsman Pandya has been delivering goods for the domestic side which further saw the Baroda-based Krunal fetching INR two crore deal in 2016.

What he achieved in the IPL outing so far?

Krunal had played a pivotal role in his maiden entry in the professional domestic Twenty20 league when he scored 237 runs in 12 matches at the average of 39.50. He further saw him bagging six wickets.

In overall 25 outings for Indians, Krunal scored 480 runs at an average of 36.92 and bagged 16 scalps.

“I don’t take the pressure of the price tag. In my first year, I went for INR 2crore with just a few Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 matches under my belt and no first-class debut yet. Even at that time, I did not take the pressure,” Krunal asserted after explaining about the soaking in a pressure.

The elder brother of Hardik Pandya, Krunal has been considered as a remarkable player and his slow-bowling saw him containing the batsmen in between.

The 26-year-old Krunal has overall featured in 48 T20s in which he scored 739 runs and went on to bag 39 wickets at the bowling average of 24.66.

When Krunal made his entry into the domestic fold?

Krunal, who has been working hard to shape-up his game and has boosted the morale of his younger brother Hardik, first represented in the home-based competition in 2013 when he represented Baroda against Bengal in March 2013 in Indore.

Krunal became the most expensive uncapped cricketer?

Moreover, Krunal has also become the most expensive buy as an uncapped player with the amount of INR 8.8 crore.

The costliest pick Krunal goes pass Pawan Negi, who claimed INR 8.5 crore in the ninth edition when IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils bagged the bowler.

Why was Krunal confident over RTM Card?

After making the entry at the base price of INR 40 lakh, Krunal witnessed the bidding process kicked off with Royal Challengers Bangalore which further saw Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals joining the bidding war to make the auction interesting.

“To be honest, I am not surprised. I was expecting this (to be retained by MI) because the way I have performed in the last two seasons,” Krunal said.

However, Indians decided to make use of the Right to Match card in order to make the bid which further will witness the two talented brothers will represent the same team like before.

“I expected to go for this much. I was confident that the RTM card will be used for me. But eventually, it is an auction and anything can happen,” Krunal concluded.

Earlier, on January 4, Hardik bagged whopping INR 11 crore in the retention players list.

Concluding, Krunal has knitted a dream like his brother Hardik to don the national jersey and play long in the foreseeable future.

Read more about interesting IPL news here: Indian Premier League, 2018