India is a cricket crazy nation

Cricketers are sometimes being worshipped as demi-Gods as well, by the fans and well wishers. Today, India has all the reasons to start believing that, they can become the undisputed team in cricket now and for the next few years. And the arrival of the Pandya brothers have a major part to contribute in it, Opines Hirav Shah, Sports Adviser, Strategist, Astrologer and Opinion Leader.

In this article, Hirav Shah throws some light on the careers and achievements of the Pandya Brothers.

Hardik Pandya

Date Of Birth

Hardik Himanshu Pandya (born 11 October 1993, currently in his 28th year) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Baroda in domestic cricket and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is an all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm fast-medium.

Past

Hardik’s father, Himanshu Pandya, ran a small car finance business in Surat which he shut down and shifted to Vadodara when Hardik was five; he did so in order to facilitate his sons with better cricket training facilities. He enrolled his two sons (Hardik and Krunal) into Kiran More’s cricket academy in Vadodara. Financially weak, the Pandya family lived in a rented apartment in Gorwa, with the brothers using a second-hand car to travel to the cricket ground. Hardik studied at the MK High School until ninth grade before dropping out to focus on cricket.

Hardik made steady progress in junior-level cricket and, according to Krunal, “won a lot of matches single-handedly” in club cricket. In an interview with the Indian Express, Hardik revealed that he was dropped from his state age-group teams due to his “attitude problems.” He added that he was “just an expressive child” who does not “like to hide his emotions.”

Pandya has been playing for Baroda cricket team since 2013. He played a vital role in Baroda winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2013–14 season.

In the 2015 season of the Indian Premier League, he scored a quick fire 21 runs off 8 balls and grabbed three important catches to help Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets and was awarded the man of the match. After the first qualifier against Chennai Super Kings, Sachin Tendulkar called over Hardik and told him that he will play for India in the next 18 months. Within one year he was chosen to play in the Indian squad during 2016 Asia Cup and 2016 ICC World Twenty20.

Later on against Kolkata Knight Riders, in a must-win situation for Mumbai Indians to remain in the race for the top 4 teams, he scored a quickfire 61 off 31 balls to win the match for his side and earn his second man of the match award in the season. He was also awarded the ‘Yes Bank maximum sixes award’ for the same match.

In January 2016, he slammed eight sixes during his innings unbeaten 86 to guide Baroda cricket team to a six-wicket win over Vidarbha cricket team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Present

T20Is

Pandya made his Twenty20 International debut for India on 27 January 2016 at the age of 22, picking up 2 wickets against Australia. His first Twenty20 International wicket was Chris Lynn.

In the second T20I against Sri Lanka cricket team at Ranchi, he batted ahead of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni and hit 27 off 14 balls before becoming the hat-trick victim of Thisara Perera. In Asia Cup 2016, Pandya smashed an 18-ball 31 helping India post a respectable score against Bangladesh. Later on, he also picked up a wicket to secure the win. In the next match against Pakistan he bowled his best figures of 3 for 8 which restricted Pakistan to 83. In a 2016 World Twenty20 match against Bangladesh on 23 March, Pandya took two crucial wickets in the last three balls of match’s final over as India beat Bangladesh by one run.

His career best bowling figures of 4 for 38 was achieved in the 3rd and final Twenty20 International against England on 8 July 2018, he got 33 Not Out in 14 balls, hitting the winning runs with a six off Jordan.

ODI career

Pandya made his One Day International (ODI) debut for India against New Zealand on 16 October 2016 at Dharamshala. He became the fourth Indian to be named player of the match on ODI debut after Sandeep Patil, Mohit Sharma and K. L. Rahul.In his first ODI innings as a batsman, he scored 36 runs from 32 balls. In the group stages of ICC Champions Trophy, Pandya hit three consecutive sixes off Imad Wasim in the same over before rain stopped play. On 18 June 2017, in the final of the Champions Trophy at the Oval, he struck a 43-ball 76 in a losing cause, after coming in with India at 54/5 following a top order collapse.

He was selected in the ODI XI of the year 2017 by Cricinfo.

In April 2019, he was named in India’s squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 27 June 2019, in the match against the West Indies, Pandya played in his 50th ODI.

Test career

Pandya was included in India’s Test squad as a batsman for their home series against England in late 2016, but was eventually left out after he injured himself while training in the nets at the PCA Stadium. He was named in the squad that toured Sri Lanka in July 2017 and played his first Test on 26 July in Galle. In the 3rd and the final Test match against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, Pandya scored his maiden Test century, and set the record for becoming the first Indian batsman to score a Test century just before lunch. He also set the record for scoring the most runs in a single over of a Test innings for India, scoring 26 runs. This century was his first century in international cricket.

Today’s game

He also has been contributing immensely to the team in ODIs and T20Is.

Last T20I, he played was on
20 March 2021 v England and last ODI he played was on 23 March 2021 v England.

Future

Hardik is the first Indian to take 4 wickets and score above 30 runs in a T20I in the same match.

Pandya is relatively new to the Indian team and has already played some excellent knocks with the bat and also the ball. He has been sealing off some tight run-chases and has been scoring quick runs when required. He has also proved his mettle as a productive bowler for India as well.

Pandya will certainly be India’s one of the most “bankable and sought after” match-winners for the next four to five years, Predicts Hirav Shah

Krunal Pandya

Date Of Birth

Krunal Himanshu Pandya (born 24 March 1991, currently in his 31st year) is an Indian international cricketer. He is an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls slow left-arm orthodox. He plays for Baroda in domestic cricket, and for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He made his international debut for the Indian cricket team in November 2018.

Past

Domestic career

Pandya made his first-class debut on 6 October 2016, playing for Baroda during the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy tournament. Within the next few months, he became the leading run scorer and leading wicket taker for Baroda in 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He scored 366 runs in 8 matches, making for an average of 45.75 and strike rate of 81.33. This included three half centuries, with a high score of 78. In bowling, he took 11 wickets in 8 matches with an economy rate of 4.82, an average of 25.09 and strike rate of 31.10. His best bowling score during the eight matches was 4/20. In 2017 he featured in an India A tri-series victory over South Africa A and Afghanistan A.

He was the leading run-scorer for Baroda in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 366 runs in eight matches. In October 2018, he was named in India ‘s squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy. Pandya was named as the captain of Baroda for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-2020.

Indian Premier League

At the 2016 IPL auction, Mumbai Indians purchased Pandya for ₹2 crore. He made his IPL debut in April 2016, playing against Gujarat Lions at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. His first wicket came with the dismissal of Dinesh Karthik, who was caught in the deep by Harbhajan Singh. He finished his first match with figures of 1/20 in 4 overs. In batting, he scored 20 runs off 11 balls, which included three fours. For his performances in the 2016 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.

In 2016, he scored 86 from 37 balls and took the wickets of Quinton De Kock and Zaheer Khan and was adjudged to be the Player of the Match against Delhi Daredevils at ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam. He continued to produce consistent performances with the bat and ball throughout the tournament. He was declared as the Player of the Match for his performance of 47 in a final victory against Rising Pune Supergiant. For his performances in the 2017 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.

In January 2018, Pandya was bought by the Mumbai Indians in the 2018 IPL auction. He had scored 160 against Railways in Ranji trophy with 21 boundaries and he was the highest run scorer in the first innings for Baroda with a strike rate of 73.06 in his second first class game.

Present

In October 2018, Pandya was named in India’s Twenty20 International (T20I) squads for their tours against the West Indies and Australia. He made his T20I debut for India against the West Indies on 4 November 2018, taking one wicket and scoring an unbeaten 21 runs off 9 balls. He was selected for India Twenty20 International team against Australia and played all three matches. In the first match he conceded 55 runs in four overs, but took 1/26 in the second T20I and won the Player of the Match award in the third match for his bowling performance of 4/36 in 4 overs.

Today’s Game

In March 2021, he was named in India’s One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against England. He made his ODI debut for India on 23 March 2021, against England, scoring 58 not out. His fifty was the fastest on debut in an ODI match, coming from 26 balls.

Future

Krunal is of immense value, Opines Hirav Shah. After all, Krunal is a genuine all-rounder. With the ball, he is a canny spinner who doesn’t spin the ball much but bowls it stump to stump. He varies his lengths and speeds and works the batsman out well. He has shown he is wily and resourceful as a limited overs bowler and doesn’t allow the batsman to get under him easily.

As a batsman , Krunal is very productive and smart. The left-handed batsman has a range of shots and knows how to collect runs all-round the wicket. He has a good technique and he does his match winning strategy in his mind only, Opines Shah.

To sum up, Hirav Predicts- “Krunal who just celebrated his birthday on the 24th of March, has a long long way to go and will bring more laurels for the Country”.