Until Ranji Trophy Level, Me And Hardik Pandya Shared The Only Bat: Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya has revealed a very touching anecdote and shed light as to how much he and Hardik struggled to taste success in international cricket. The Pandya brothers, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya are among those cricketers, who have scaled up to new heights facing a lot of difficulties over the years. However, the two have emerged as match-winners over the years for their team, especially for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL.

Similar to his brother Hardik, Krunal made the headlines in 2016 in his maiden IPL season. The left-hander scored 237 runs at the strike rate of 191.12 – and scalped six wickets. He continued his impressive run and followed up with 243 runs and ten wickets in IPL 2017.

However, the Pandya brothers have had their fair share of facing a life where they even didn’t have the minimal resources to continue playing cricket. In a recent interview with In the recent episode of Cricbuzz’s ‘Spicy Pitch’, Krunal has shed light on one such incident.

Krunal Pandya Opens Up On The Struggle

Till the time both the brothers finally made on their own, it was tough financially. Krunal narrated how bats were a precious commodity for them.

“Bats were expensive. A good English willow bat would cost around 7000-8000 rupees. Until the Ranji Trophy level, we never had a bat. Irfan Pathan had given Hardik a bat, and I had a bat. We were playing against Mumbai, and Hardik’s only bat had broken. Hardik used to bat at 3 back then, and I batted lower down,” Krunal Pandya revealed.

With both brothers sharing a single bat between them, Krunal narrated an incident during a domestic game where he walked in with a teammate’s bat with Hardik using his willow.

“For our last match, Hardik took my bat and he was still in when it was my turn, I requested a teammate, embarrassed, for a spare bat and joined Hardik at the crease. Until the Ranji trophy, bats were a precious commodity,” Krunal Pandya added.

Major Concerns Still Stand Firm Over IPL 2020 Future

With the coronavirus outbreak bringing the world to a standstill, the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was postponed from March 29 to April 15. India is currently on a 21-day lockdown to combat the deadly virus.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is now looking at the October-November window for the IPL. But the move can be possible only if the ICC decides to postpone the men’s T20 World Cup that is to be held later in the year, according to some sources in the board.

On Friday, latest reports suggested that the BCCI is probing into the July window to conduct the IPL and it could take place behind closed doors.

However, all hopes have once again vanished as the BCCI. On Thursday suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 indefinitely in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

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