Krunal's last appearance for India was in July 2021.
Krunal scripted history last year by becoming the first and only player to win the Player-of-the-Match (POTM) award in two separate IPL finals.
His second final POTM award capped off RCB's 18-year wait for their maiden IPL title. Facing Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the summit clash at Narendra Modi Stadium, he delivered a match-winning spell of 2/17 in 4 overs, dismissing key batters Prabhsimran Singh and Josh Inglis to secure a 6-run victory.
During the 2025 season, Krunal became a pivotal figure for RCB, claiming 17 wickets—the second-most for the team behind Josh Hazlewood's 22.
Over the years, Krunal's impact with the ball has outweighed the bat. Before his unbeaten 73 off 47 balls against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025, the southpaw’s half-century in the IPL had come way back in his debut season in 2016.
Speaking in the teaser of the RCB podcast, Krunal Pandya discussed being given a different tag every season while also reflecting on his crucial 119-run stand against DC after RCB were reduced to 26/3.
"Every season, I have been tagged differently, right? Initially, I was a bowling all-rounder. Then some places, I become a batting all-rounder. Batting is close to my heart. There is no doubt about it. And obviously against Delhi when I went to bat suddenly not batted in the tournament, and to go out there where we were 20 for three in five or something to win a game from there, and that was a tricky wicket, it was pretty special. I am close to 2,000 runs. People tend to forget my batting that much," Krunal said.
In his IPL career, Krunal has amassed 1,756 runs in 118 innings at an average of 22.22 and a strike rate of over 132, including two half-centuries with the best score of 86 to his credit.
Krunal may have fallen out of favour with the national selectors, but he is still keen to don the Indian jersey once again.
"At the end of the day, there is nothing that beats playing for the country, and whatever time I played, I did pretty well, in those games when I played T20 and one day, but yeah, nothing compares to playing for the country, and the goal remains the same, to represent the country," he added.
The all-rounder said he is in a "much better place in life" regarding how he processes the game, leading to his "sky is the limit" outlook.
"So, the sky is the limit and anything can happen at any moment," Krunal concluded.
Krunal Pandya has represented India in five ODIs and 19 T20Is so far, scoring 245 runs and picking up 17 wickets in total.