Krunal Pandya, captain of Baroda, left the tournament midway after demise of his father.
Team Baroda finished Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020-21 as the runners-up after losing to the unbeaten Tamil Nadu side led by Dinesh Karthik. Baroda's exceptional season took them to the finals despite not having their three senior-most cricketers in the side for the majority of the tournament.
The Baroda side began the domestic tournament with an ugly spat between all-rounder Deepak Hooda and skipper Krunal Pandya leading to the former going back home.
A few days later, skipper Krunal also had to leave the bio-secure bubble due to his father's demise. His younger brother Hardik Pandya did not participate in the tournament at all. As a result, the performance of the rest of the team commanded respect and wishes from the best.
Both the Pandya brothers sent out congratulatory messages for the Baroda side on their social media accounts.
Krunal wrote, "Top effort boys! Superb performances in the tournament We’ve come a long way and there’s a long way to go! @cricbaroda"
Top effort boys! Superb performances in the tournament ???? We’ve come a long way and there’s a long way to go! @cricbaroda pic.twitter.com/zWHBkzeXLV
— Krunal Pandya (@krunalpandya24) February 1, 2021
Hardik tweeted, "Well played, boys You should be proud of this achievement! @cricbaroda"
Well played, boys ???? You should be proud of this achievement! @cricbaroda pic.twitter.com/sJkv8MEEYO
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) February 1, 2021