Playing for India is the ultimate goal: Krunal Pandya
Pandya last represented India in the tour to Sri Lanka in July 2021, featuring in the third ODI on July 20 and the second T20I in Colombo (RPS) on July 25. He has not made an international appearance since then.
“The ultimate goal is to represent the country and I don’t dwell too much on it. I want to continue doing what I have, which is to go out and win matches. And in the process, if I get that opportunity, I will be really happy because that is the ultimate goal, to play for the country,” Pandya told reporters.
“And yes, whatever opportunity I get to play with the white ball for the country, I have done a pretty good job in that time. I just want to do my job and leave the rest to God,” he added.
Pandya has played in 5 ODIs and 19 T20S fixtures for India. While he scored 254 goals in 24 matches in total, he headed 17 goals with the ball.
He remains a prodigy in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pandya has scored 1757 runs in 146 fixtures in the IPL so far at an average of 21.96 and has scaled 98 wickets with the ball at an impressive economy rate of 7.51.
Mumbai Indians bought Krunal Pandya for Rs 2 crore in the IPL 2016 auction. He quickly became a key part of a strong lower-middle order at MI alongside Hardik and Kieron Pollard. In his first IPL season, Pandya scored 237 runs at 191.12 and took six wickets. In the 2017 IPL final, he won the Player of the Match award with 47 off 38 balls in a low-scoring contest. The following year, MI re-signed him at auction for Rs 8.80 million.
He continued to be one of Mumbai’s key figures in the middle order during their back-to-back title wins in 2019 and 2020, notably hitting the streak against Delhi Capitals in the 2020 final. He returned to the auction with the addition of two new teams in 2022 and was bought by the Lucknow Super Giants for 8.25 crore rupees and contributed to the play-off appearances in each of the first two seasons.
Pandya later joined IPL 2025 after being bought for Rs 5.75 million at the auction in Jeddah and played a vital role in his side’s maiden IPL victory. Pandya was named the Player of the Match in the IPL 2025 Final after producing figures of 4-0-17-2 against Punjab Kings.
