Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Krunal Pandya recently opened up about his ambitions to make a comeback to the Indian team and his evolution as a player in his decade-long career.
Krunal is currently making waves with his left-arm spin for RCB, as they look set to make the IPL playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven years. In 2025, RCB broke an 18-year drought to win the IPL title for the first time. Pandya had been awarded the Player of the Match award in the final.
In his 11 years as an IPL player, Pandya is the only player to win the Player of the Match Award in an IPL final twice. Apart from RCB in 2025, he had been a part of three different IPL title-winning sides with the Mumbai Indians.
In an interview with the Times of India, he spoke about all things ranging from his development as a player to his India comeback ambitions.
“What I feel proud of is the longevity” – Krunal Pandya
When asked what he thought of his evolution as an IPL player across his 11 years, Pandya said that he was grateful for it. He also said that he was always trying to become better as a player.
“The evolution feels very grateful and honestly, when you start playing at the highest level, you want to play as long as you can. For me, what I fell proud of, is longevity. I am into my 11th season, and that is a sign that I have constantly gotten better. As a player, I have always focused on trying to become the best version of myself.”
“Over the years, there has been a lot of learning. I have seen extreme days in the last 10 years. That has made me more humble and given me more gratitude towards the sport and life as well. The goal is to continue doing what I do, which is to get batter and win games for my team,” he said.
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“Reinventing myself is part of the process” – Krunal Pandya
Krunal elaborated on his desire to keep reinventing himself and the hard work that goes into that. He also said that everything he does has a lot of thought behind it.
Krunal Pandya said, “Yes, reinventing myself is part of the process. The good thing with me is that I don’t shy away from trying new things. If I believe something can work for me and give me an extra edge in the sport, I always give it a shot.”
“But it is never about trying something flashy or doing something just to look cool. There is always a lot of logic and thought behind the changes, execution and outcome.”
“I haven’t started bowling a bouncer or a slinger overnight. There has been a lot of practice behind it,” he continued.
“There is nothing bigger than playing for the country” – Krunal Pandya
Between 2018 and 2021, Krunal Pandya played 5 ODIs and 19 T20Is for India. But, he hasn’t been called up to the national side in any format since July 2021.
When asked if he still held the Indian dream, Krunal said yes. “It is right there, at the top of the table. There is nothing bigger than playing for the country. The thought process about representing India never changes.”
“Whatever opportunities I got to represent India, I did well. I firmly believe in focusing on what is in your hands, which is playing your sport at your best.”