Krunal Pandya is hopeful that his call-up for the national team isn't far away after getting picked for India-A. The Mumbai Indians' all rounder is working hard to make it into the Indian team and says that his selection in India A squad for the tour of England is a "step closer" to the senior team.
"It feels really good. Last year after the IPL, I got picked for the India A's tour of South Africa. It was a good tour for me. The ultimate dream is to represent India and that is still there," Pandya said. "And it is just one step closer to the senior team. I will try to give my best when I go there (to England) but right now this is an important stage of the tournament (in IPL). I want to do well for MI first and then I will see how it goes," the all-rounder added.
Krunal is game for the upcoming do-or-die encounters in Indian Premier League (IPL). MI need 3 wins out of remaining 3 games to confirm their qualification in playoffs. They can still qualify with 2 wins but have to be depended on other's results.
"We will be going match by match and that's how we have played from the first game itself. Obviously, in the initial few games, the results didn't come our way but it is not that we were playing badly. We were playing good cricket but couldn't win the crucial moments in the first few matches," he said.
"And in the latter half, the same thing happened. We were in the same situation and we grabbed those opportunities and we started winning games. We are not thinking about where we are right now in the points table. We are just taking one game at a time and we will see how it goes," the southpaw added.
Krunal believes Mumbai has always played good cricket when they were knocked down. "Mumbai Indians is known for that. When you're pushed to the wall, then you come out with your best. Somewhere down the line over a period of time, Mumbai Indians have played their best cricket, when they have been down and out.
"I hope we continue that because now for the last three games and every game is a do-or-die encounter. But as I said, we'll take it game by game and see how it goes," he noted.
Krunal is hopeful of stopping Jos Buttler who destroyed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the last game.
"If you see the positive side, he has been consistent for the last 3-4 games, so he's due for one bad game. So I see it in that way like as an opponent," Krunal signed off.
