Krunal Pandya targets 2019 World Cup squad

Krunal, the elder brother of India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, recently got his maiden call-up to the India squad for its T20I series against England in July.

The 27-year-old however, could not make it to the playing XI in any of the three matches of the series, that India won 2-1. Despite that he said his focus is to make it to the squad for the quadrennial 50-over extravaganza in England next year.

“My ultimate goal is to play for the country. To play for India in the World Cup and that is the next goal to be very honest,” Krunal told the official Mumbai Indians website, who he has represented in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2016.

“I am going tournament by tournament or you can say match by match and if I do well consistently, I’ll get what I want. So obviously at the end, the ultimate aim is to play the 2019 World Cup for India. I hope the way I am going, I will achieve that as well,” he added.

Describing his maiden call-up to the national side as a “dream come true”, Krunal said: “It was like a dream come true for both of us. In the first T20I when Hardik and I shared the dressing room for India, it was a great feeling.”