India vs England: Krunal Pandya reveals he carried his father's clothes to the dressing room for the ODI series

The first of the three-match ODI series against England on March 23 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune was an emotional one for the Pandya Brothers especially the elder brother Krunal Pandya as he was handed his maiden ODI cap by brother Hardik.

There were many moments during the game when Krunal was in tears remembering his late father, Himanshu Pandya, who passed away earlier this year in January. The 30-year-old had a sensational outing with the willow in his debut game as he played a stunning knock of 58* runs off just 31 deliveries along with stitching a match-defining partnership with KL Rahul of not out 112 runs off just 57 balls in the last few overs of India’s batting innings.

Krunal dedicated his maiden ODI half-century to his father by pointing his bat towards the sky. The all-rounder hit the fastest half-century on debut in ODIs as he took just 26 deliveries to complete his fifty. In addition, Krunal’s score of 58 is the highest individual score for an Indian debutant while playing at number 7.

Krunal Pandya’s yet another emotional tweet

As far as bowling is concerned, in his 10 overs, the elder Pandya managed to scalp the wicket all-rounder Sam Curran and finished with the figures of 10-0-59-1. Remembering his father after his scintillating debut, the left-hander took to his official Twitter handle to share that he carried his father’s clothes, which he was supposed to wear to watch Krunal play on the day of his demise, to the dressing room during his ODI debut to feel his presence.

“My father would always keep the clothes he’d wear for our matches ready the previous night. This was what he was going to wear for my match on Jan 16, the day he left us. I carried it with me in the dressing room to feel his presence even more strongly during my ODI debut” Krunal tweeted.

My father would always keep the clothes he’d wear for our matches ready the previous night. This was what he was going to wear for my match on Jan 16, the day he left us. I carried it with me in the dressing room to feel his presence even more strongly during my ODI debut. pic.twitter.com/eXkpFWVG8M

— Krunal Pandya (@krunalpandya24) March 24, 2021

In another tweet, the 30-year-old expressed his gratitude to all the fans and other people for his debut and his birthday which falls on March 24. “And now I know, that he was always there by my side, guiding me and cheering me on. Thank you, everyone, for your wishes, they mean the world to me” Pandya added.

And now I know, that he was always there by my side, guiding me and cheering me on. Thank you everyone for your wishes, they mean the world to me ❤️🙏 pic.twitter.com/cia98Ynh8M

— Krunal Pandya (@krunalpandya24) March 24, 2021