After the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auction, one of the major talking points was the inclusion of Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda in the same team, especially considering the controversy they were a part of.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) – the new franchise in the competition – roped in Pandya and Hooda in the bidding process, with mentor Gautam Gambhir handling all the picks. As the franchise began their journey in the ongoing fifteenth season of the cash-rich league, many wondered how would the relationship between Hooda and Krunal turn out in the LSG camp.
Notably, the duo had a fallout during the 2020/21 season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Baroda. Hooda had left the side accusing skipper Krunal of using abusive language at him, following which the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) suspended Hooda from that season. The 26-year-old subsequently moved to Rajasthan for the next domestic season, which went incredibly well as he earned a place in India’s T20 side after proving his finishing skills to the selectors.
But as the duo reunited at the LSG camp, they seemed to have buried the hatchet. In the past three matches, a few pics of Hooda and Krunal celebrating together have captured all the attention on social media.
Now, on his relationship with Krunal, Hooda has opened up and mentioned that the former is like a brother to him before adding that the ultimate aim is to win games for his franchise.
“Krunal Pandya is like my brother, and brothers do fight. We are playing with one aim, which is to win games for LSG,” said Hooda in an interview with Dainik Jagran.
“I was not watching the IPL auction. We met just like the other players at the team hotel. Whatever happened is in the past, and as I said, we both are playing for the same team and our goals, too, are the same,” he added.