Krunal Pandya aspires to become like Yuvraj Singh

The Mumbai Indians team managed to lift the IPL trophy this season. They entered the record books by becoming the first team to win the title thrice in the history of the tournament. Certainly, that would not have been enough had there not been a certain Krunal Pandya rescuing them on the day. The MI innings struggled at 79/7 and the Rising Pune Supergiant looked in firm control of the game.

Pandya hit a crucial 47 that helped MI post 129 on the board and the rest is a part of history now. Things have changed a great deal for Krunal Pandya since then. He met one of his icons Amitabh Bachchan after the IPL success. The Bollywood actor had later posted the pictures on social media and Pandya believes that has been a big boost for him and his brother Hardik Pandya.

“The best thing I have heard (since winning the IPL) is Amitabh Bachchan sir saying that you two brothers (Krunal and Hardik) did well. He took a photo and posted it (on Twitter). That was a big boost,” quoted Krunal Pandya as per the quotes in Wisden India.

Recalling the IPL finals

Recalling the night of the finals, the all-rounder noted that he had asked Mitchell Johnson not to try anything extraordinary and keep things simple. The trick seemed to have worked wonders for the MI camp as they managed to help take MI to 129 in their 20 overs.

“I told Johnson that no point hitting straightaway and getting out. So we decided to play normal cricket and hit only from the 18th over. We did that, and got to 129. We wanted to give the bowlers some runs,” he quoted.

Speaking about the nature of the game of cricket, Krunal rightly pointed out that things do boil on to a point where it all comes down to the mental aspect of the game. The players have to be proactive in their approach and that is something he is keen on improving in the days to come.

“As much as it is a physical game, it is a mental game. So, you have to always be alert and stay a few steps ahead. If you are bowling, you have to be ahead of the batsman and if you are batting you have to be ahead of the bowler. That is how I want to play my cricket,” he pointed out.

Turning Point

Krunal Pandya reflected back at the moment that perhaps turned out to be the turning point for him. In one of the league games against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2016 edition of the IPL, he dismissed Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the same over of the game. He cited that taking the wicket of AB de Villiers meant a world to him since the Protea batsman has been a legend of the game.

“Dismissing Kohli and de Villiers in one over was the turning point. That was a big achievement, as is the fact that I have now dismissed de Villiers four times. He is a legend and if he hits me then it’s fine and it won’t impact me, but if I get his wicket then it works to my advantage. When I am bowling to him, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I just do what I do normally, and am not under any kind of pressure,” mentioned Pandya.

Lastly, he picked up Yuvraj Singh as his role model. He said that Yuvraj has been one of the biggest match winners for the country and he wants to emulate him as well. Krunal Pandya currently has stiff competition from Axar Patel, Pawan Negi, and Shahbaz Nadeem who deal in the same trait that he specializes in.

“He is one of India’s biggest match-winners. That’s the biggest learning from him, and I want to be like him – a match-winner. The opposition should think that I need to be dismissed or I need to be handled carefully while I am bowling,” Krunal Pandya conceded.