Krunal Pandya (left) with brother Hardik.
Mumbai:
Saturday's Indian Premier League auction in Bangalore has given much-needed bragging rights to Krunal Pandya, older brother of India all-rounder Hardik.
The Pandya brothers share a healthy cricketing rivalry which got elevated further after Krunal, a left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner, made his maiden foray into the cash-rich T20 league with hell-bent Mumbai Indians getting their player for Rs 2 crore.
More dear than Hardik
"I just couldn't stop shouting. I never expected so much money. From a base price of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 2 crore is unbelievable. I can now pull my brother's leg as I am a more expensive player than him at Mumbai Indians. Hardik was taken by MI at his base price of R10 lakh," a delighted Krunal told SUNDAY mid-day from Baroda.
The Pathan brothers (Irfan and Yusuf) are synonymous with Baroda in cricketing circles. With Krunal now part of IPL defending champions, the 24-year-old hopes to make Baroda famous with the Pandya brothers as well.
"Everyone talks of Irfan bhai and Yusuf bhai. They made Baroda famous in India. Now, we too want to have a similar impact. I want people to know Baroda by the Pandya brothers as well. We will try our best," said Krunal.
'I was confident'
Krunal, who missed out on the ongoing domestic season due to a shoulder injury, was confident that Mumbai Indians would bid for him. "I knew Mumbai Indians wanted me and Delhi Daredevils were also interested. I am really motivated to do well for MI for showing so much faith in my abilities," said Krunal, who plans to move from the Housing Board flat to a luxurious house with his IPL fat pay packet.
Although Hardik rose to prominence rapidly ever since his impressive outing in the last IPL, Krunal is confident of catching up with his brother soon. "We have great competition amongst ourselves. We have played junior cricket together for Baroda.
We played for the same club and represented the state team as well, and now we are together for the Mumbai Indians.
Someday, we will be together in the Indian team," Krunal signed off.
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How these players fared...
India's U-19 World Cup bunch
> Rishabh Pant (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Delhi Daredevils for Rs 1.9 crore
> Ishan Kishan (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Gujarat Lions for Rs 35 lakh
> Mahipal Lomror (base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Delhi Daredevils for Rs 10 lakh
> Khaleel Ahmed (base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Delhi Daredevils for Rs 10 lakh
> Unsold: Avesh Khan, Washington Sundar, Mayank Dagar, Shubham Mavi
Mumbai domestic stars
> Dhawal Kulkarni (Base price Rs 2 crore) - sold to Gujarat Lions for Rs 2 crore
> Aditya Tare (Base price Rs 20 lakh) - sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 1.2 crore
> Iqbal Abdulla (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 10 lakh
> Armaan Jaffer (base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 10 lakh (second round)
> Akhil Herwadkar (base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Delhi Daredevils for Rs 10 lakh
> Pravin Tambe (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Gujarat Lions for Rs 20 lakh
> Pardeep Sahu (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 10 lakh
> Unsold: Abhishek Nayar, Rohan Raje, Tushar Deshpande, Balwinder Sandhu Jr, Shubham Ranjane, Paul Valthaty
The Pandya brothers share a healthy cricketing rivalry which got elevated further after Krunal, a left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner, made his maiden foray into the cash-rich T20 league with hell-bent Mumbai Indians getting their player for Rs 2 crore.
More dear than Hardik
"I just couldn't stop shouting. I never expected so much money. From a base price of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 2 crore is unbelievable. I can now pull my brother's leg as I am a more expensive player than him at Mumbai Indians. Hardik was taken by MI at his base price of R10 lakh," a delighted Krunal told SUNDAY mid-day from Baroda.
The Pathan brothers (Irfan and Yusuf) are synonymous with Baroda in cricketing circles. With Krunal now part of IPL defending champions, the 24-year-old hopes to make Baroda famous with the Pandya brothers as well.
"Everyone talks of Irfan bhai and Yusuf bhai. They made Baroda famous in India. Now, we too want to have a similar impact. I want people to know Baroda by the Pandya brothers as well. We will try our best," said Krunal.
'I was confident'
Krunal, who missed out on the ongoing domestic season due to a shoulder injury, was confident that Mumbai Indians would bid for him. "I knew Mumbai Indians wanted me and Delhi Daredevils were also interested. I am really motivated to do well for MI for showing so much faith in my abilities," said Krunal, who plans to move from the Housing Board flat to a luxurious house with his IPL fat pay packet.
Although Hardik rose to prominence rapidly ever since his impressive outing in the last IPL, Krunal is confident of catching up with his brother soon. "We have great competition amongst ourselves. We have played junior cricket together for Baroda.
We played for the same club and represented the state team as well, and now we are together for the Mumbai Indians.
Someday, we will be together in the Indian team," Krunal signed off.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How these players fared...
India's U-19 World Cup bunch
> Rishabh Pant (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Delhi Daredevils for Rs 1.9 crore
> Ishan Kishan (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Gujarat Lions for Rs 35 lakh
> Mahipal Lomror (base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Delhi Daredevils for Rs 10 lakh
> Khaleel Ahmed (base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Delhi Daredevils for Rs 10 lakh
> Unsold: Avesh Khan, Washington Sundar, Mayank Dagar, Shubham Mavi
Mumbai domestic stars
> Dhawal Kulkarni (Base price Rs 2 crore) - sold to Gujarat Lions for Rs 2 crore
> Aditya Tare (Base price Rs 20 lakh) - sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 1.2 crore
> Iqbal Abdulla (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 10 lakh
> Armaan Jaffer (base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 10 lakh (second round)
> Akhil Herwadkar (base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Delhi Daredevils for Rs 10 lakh
> Pravin Tambe (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Gujarat Lions for Rs 20 lakh
> Pardeep Sahu (Base price Rs 10 lakh) - sold to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 10 lakh
> Unsold: Abhishek Nayar, Rohan Raje, Tushar Deshpande, Balwinder Sandhu Jr, Shubham Ranjane, Paul Valthaty
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