BENGALURU: About 15 years ago, on a mat in Palaij, a small town in Gujarat’s Bharuch district, a lanky young man learned the value of adapting. While bowling with a coated ball in a local village tournament, he quickly realized that relying on discipline, control and innovation did little to help spin and survive. Even today, these early lessons of constantly reinventing himself define Krunal Pandya, as he continues to do in his 11th season in the Indian Premier League.
Krunal, the eldest son of the Pandya brothers, has represented India in five ODIs and 19 T20Is and has become a vital cog in defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore’s spin attack over the past two seasons. Krunal’s impressive performance of 2/17 in last year’s final earned him the Man of the Match award and underlined his value in pressure situations.
As RCB strives to defend their title, the 35-year-old left-arm spinner, who last donned the Indian jersey in July 2021, is also quietly nurturing the hope of a comeback for the Indian team.
Years of hard work on and off the field, coupled with the ups and downs of professional cricket, have made Krunal more reflective and grounded. Now one of the most experienced all-around players in the league, he remains driven by the urge to improve and contribute.
Krunal, who has played 152 IPL matches since making his debut for Mumbai Indians in 2016, talks about longevity, reinventing his bowling and his enduring India ambitions in an exclusive interview with TOI.
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This is your 11th year in the IPL. How do you see yourself evolving as a player?
This evolution feels very appreciated and honest, and when you start playing at the highest level, you want to keep playing for as long as possible. For me, what I’m proud of is longevity. I’m in my 11th season, which shows that I’m constantly improving. As a player, I’ve always been focused on trying to be the best version of myself.
I have learned a lot over the years. I have experienced extreme days over the past decade. It makes me more humble and makes me more grateful for the sport and life. My goal is to keep doing what I do, which is to get better and win games for my team.
Is this where your desire to reinvent yourself comes from?
Yes. Reinventing yourself is part of the process. My strength is that I don’t shy away from trying new things. If I believe something will work for me and give me an extra edge in the sport, I will always give it a try.
But this is never about trying something flashy or just doing it to look cool. There is always a lot of logic and thinking behind the changes, execution and results.
I didn’t suddenly start bowling or bowling overnight. There is a lot of practice behind this.
Amid your commitments to RCB and Baroda, where do your ambitions lie in India?
There it is, on top of the table. Nothing is more important than serving your country. The thought process of representing India has never changed.
Whenever I get a chance to represent India, I perform well. I’m a firm believer in focusing on what’s in your hands, which is performing your sport in the best shape possible.
What specific mechanical shift helped you move from a collapsed front leg to stronger vertical support?
Just fitness. Sometimes, we don’t emphasize enough the work that goes on behind the scenes. Ultimately, it’s important to acknowledge what works.
To me, the healthier you are, the more things you can adapt to. Sometimes, as a cricketer or even as a person, you know what areas you want to improve on, but your body may not allow it because you are not fit enough to adapt to the new things.
Striving to be the healthiest version of myself has helped me develop new things in my game.
Did the new release height help you generate more bounce and velocity off the surface?
Yeah, obviously, I worked a lot on my bowling. Now, when I bowl left-arm spin, my action is much higher than before. I shortened my stride to get more bounce because in IPL, it’s difficult for you to get spin from the wicket.
The question then becomes: How to deceive the batter? I’ve been trying to gain extra bounce by maintaining height. I realized that the best cricket I had ever played in my career came when I followed my instincts.
Can you elaborate on how to make the short ball a wicket-taking option?
People take my short game seriously. I’ve seen some statistics over the past two years where I’ve bowled the highest number of bouncers, which is weird.
But I’m not focused on any one particular delivery. My only focus is staying one step ahead of the batter.
How are you working on that given the limited at-bats you’ve had over the past few years?
I haven’t had much opportunity to bat in the IPL in the last 3-4 years. That is, the thought process remains the same. How can I evolve? How can I get better? We’ve been unbelievable as a batting unit over the last two years, so I have no complaints about me not batting. But yes, I will give 100% whenever I get the chance.
With over 1800 runs and over 100 wickets in the IPL, how satisfying has his journey been?
If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be gratitude. The icing on the cake for me was those four trophies (three of which were for Mumbai Indians) that I got the chance to lift.
You are not one to back down from a challenge. Does this come naturally to you?
Yes. I learned this from my parents. They never back down from anything. Because of them, I naturally have the willpower to keep fighting and never give up.