'Our lives changed' - Krunal Pandya reveals how coach John Wright spotted both the brothers in Mumbai

Over the years, brothers Krunal and Hardik Pandya have delivered many match-winning performances for both India and their IPL side Mumbai Indians. While Hardik Pandya missed the cricketing action last year due to back injury, Krunal kept featuring in T20 Internationals for the Men in Blue. Hardik was set to make his national comeback in the ODI series against South Africa. However, the series was eventually called off in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

The brother duo was set to feature in IPL 2020 while donning the Mumbai Indians jersey. However, the tournament has landed into trouble due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The much-awaited tournament was initially postponed to April 15 but considering the current situation in the world, the possibility of IPL 2020 looks slim.

Meanwhile, Krunal Pandya, on Cricbuzz’s show, has revealed how former India coach John Wright spotted the talent of Pandya brothers. Krunal revealed that Wright was in Mumbai when he spotted the duo during a Syed Mushtaq Ali match.

Krunal was initially set to join a government job but he threw the letter away and chose to go to the trails before getting selected in the Baroda team. Hardik was already a part of the Baroda team and both the brothers made their presence felt at the domestic level.

“Back in the day, there was a government recruitment speed post job and I received a letter for trials. My father told me that it’s a good opportunity, you may earn Rs 15-20k a month, so you should go and try it out. At the same time, I also had trial games coming up for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Baroda team. I thought that I have worked so hard for the past 2-3 years and I have become a new player,” said Krunal.

I went for trials and performed really well’: Krunal Pandya

“So I thought I didn’t work hard for a speed post job. I did it to become a cricketer. So, I tore down the letter and threw it away, and decided to go for the trials. I went for the trials and I performed really well. I got selected for the Baroda team. Hardik was already in the team. Syed Mushtaq matches were in Mumbai,” he added.

Krunal revealed the Wright spotted the brothers and felt that both Hardik and Krunal were good talents considering their batting and bowling forte. The elder Pandya brother believes that their lives would have been different if he had not torn the letter of the government job.

Coach John Wright spotted me and Hardik, and he saw that these two brothers are good talents – they can both bat and bowl. So from thereon, he followed us up, and our lives changed. I feel the letter that I threw away worked in my favour. If I hadnt played in the trial matches, our lives will be quite different,” Pandya said.