Having returned from the T20I leg of the ongoing West Indies tour with a "Player-of-the-Series" award in India's 3-0 whitewash, all-rounder Krunal Pandya wishes to scale further heights at this level and soon get the chance to represent his country in the 50-over version of the game.
Krunal, one of Mumbai Indians' mainstay in the IPL, has been an India A regular in white-ball cricket and played 14 T20Is since his senior team debut in November last year. But the 28-year-old isn't definitely one to rest on his laurels. He wants to break into the ODI side as well.
"The Windies series was a big confidence booster. It was the first series of the season and to do well against some quality players always helps. This is just the beginning and I will look to carry this forward into the next series," Krunal told IANS.
"Looking to stay true to my goal and play across formats. That is an area of focus and I have played one-days for India 'A' in the last two years and the experience has given me confidence that I can rise to the challenge."
"Working closely with Rahul Dravid and Paras Mhambrey has helped. While Paras bhai has helped me with fine-tuning my bowling skills, just speaking to Rahul bhai makes you a more knowledgeable cricketer. It is such an experience to pick his cricketing brain. I have tried discussing how to react to a situation and that helps. I want to play for India in all the formats and do well," he added.
Sticking to the T20Is for now, Krunal said he would love to make it to the squad for World Cup in Australia next year.
"The dream is to represent India in the World T20. Every performance will matter, but that is a long term goal. For now, it is about making it to the team in the next series and then do well."
"If I manage to keep performing, the goal of playing in the World T20 in Australia will obviously be fulfilled. However, for now, the focus is the next series against South Africa. Always important to take it one at a time," he said.
Krunal has played for India under the captaincy of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who is also his MI skipper. So when asked to give an insight into how different their leadership style is, he said: "They are both very successful captains and they are all about standing by the teammates."
"They are both brilliant leaders and be it Mumbai Indians or Team India, I always look to give it my 100 per cent. Have not really found much difference as they both go out to win."
"I do look to spend equal time with bat and ball. I feel that I should be able to contribute across all departments and if I am able to do that, it helps the team at the end of the day," he added on a personal note regarding his urge to get better in either skill.
(Inputs from IANS)
