Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) decision to rope in both Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya had left the fans stunned and the team’s mentor, Gautam Gambhir, was also inquired about the team signing them. The duo had a fallout during the 2020/21 season. Hooda didn’t play a game for Baroda and switched his base to Rajasthan for the 2021/22 season.
After a season, the duo reunited at the LSG camp and they seem to have buried the hatchet. In the past three matches, a few pics of Hooda and Krunal celebrating together have been hogging the limelight on social media.
And now, Hooda has confirmed that all is well between him and Krunal. Speaking to Dainik Jagran, Hooda called Krunal his brother and said: “Krunal Pandya is like my brother, and brothers do fight. We are playing with one aim, which is to win games for LSG.”
Interestingly, Hooda’s decision to leave Baroda benefitted him hugely as he took over the role of a finisher at Rajasthan. His finishing skills drew the attention of the national selectors and the all-rounder was recalled to the national team for the first time since 2018. Hooda is now capped in white-ball cricket and can cement his spot if he does well in the long run.
As for IPL, he joined LSG for Rs 5.75 crore. He drew bids from as many as 6 franchises and LSG made the winning bid in the end. Pandya was also among the highest-paid all-rounders and joined them for Rs 8.25 crore.
Both the all-rounders have played their part in the team’s success. Hooda has 119 runs and 1 wicket in 3 matches. On the other hand, Pandya has 3 wickets and 28 runs (21* and 7) in his account.
With 2 wins from 3 matches, LSG sit at the 2nd spot in the points table. They next face Delhi Capitals on Thursday (April 7).
