India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has a very close friendship with his IPL teammate Kieron Pollard. He opened up on his bond with Pollard and said the West Indies cricketer is similar to his elder brother Krunal Pandya for him.
Hardik even went on to call Pollard 'Gujarati' by heart for being cautious with the utilization of his money. Both the cricketers have spent a lot of time playing together for Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL.
"We call him grandpa. He is from West Indies but he is actually a Gujarati at heart. He literally functions like an Indian: a guy who believes in property, a guy who believes in investments, a guy who believes: instead of buying a car, I'll buy property because it will grow, Ek rupiah Nahin waste karoonga [I won't waste a rupee]," said Pandya to ESPNcricinfo.
"How Krunal is for me, Pollard is the same. He has been part of the international circuit for a long time. I don't sometimes understand how it functions, but he has taught me to let it be. I am very upfront if I don't like something. There are lots of times when he has calmed me down, lots of times when he has given me life lessons," he added.
The 28-year-old revealed his relationship with Pollard started because of Krunal after he got into the MI squad in 2016. Earlier, Hardik didn't use to hang out with the Caribbean cricketer much.
"The relationship started because of Krunal. In 2015 at the IPL I did not speak to Polly. He was in the next room but it was just "Hi Polly, bye Polly." In 2016, when Krunal came in, I started talking to Polly. Polly is now family, not just a friend, not just a team-mate," he said.
(With ANI Inputs)
