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Former India Chief Selector Kris Srikkanth advocated for Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Krunal Pandya to make a comeback into the Indian T20I squad. Pandya last played the format for India in 2021.
Srikkanth made his comments after RCB’s win over the Gujarat Titans in the first Qualifier of IPL 2026. Krunal made an all-round contribution of 43 runs and 2 wickets in RCB’s 92-run win on Tuesday.
RCB stomp into IPL 2026 final
GT chose to field first, but the decision didn’t go as well as they’d hoped. Venkatesh Iyer played an aggressive cameo, but the real substance came from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal.
Kohli and Padikkal put up 72 in 6 overs, but got out to Jason Holder in the same over. Krunal Pandya then joined forces with RCB skipper Rajat Patidar. The start was cautious, but when the floodgates opened, the runs poured.
Patidar survived two dropped catches to put up 95 with Krunal. In the death overs, Patidar showed his pace-hitting skills as well. RCB amassed 114 off the last 6 overs and put up a record score of 254, with Patidar putting up an unbeaten 93 from just 33 balls.
GT’s chase didn’t have any substance at all. Sai Sudharsan was bizarrely hit-wicket, and that set the tone for the chase. GT lost 5 wickets in the powerplay itself, and the writing was on the wall. Rahul Tewatia made 64, but that just delayed the inevitable. Jacob Duffy took 3 wickets while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal, and Rasikh Salam took 2 each.
He deserves the Indian cap again- Kris Srikkanth
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said that Krunal Pandya deserved to be a part of the Indian team once again. Srikkanth termed the southpaw the best all-rounder in the country and said that he should replace Axar Patel in the Indian team in T20s.
“Krunal Pandya is the real catalyst for RCB with his all-around abilities. He deserves the Indian cap again. He played long back, but they dropped him. This is the right time to give him a chance again. He is suddenly miles ahead of Axar Patel in the T20 format. If you take the last two IPLs, he’s miles ahead. So Krunal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Patidar deserve a look in the Indian T20I side,” he said.
Srikkanth went on to praise RCB’s overall batting show and the way they took the GT bowling apart. “The Kohli-Padikkal partnership was the key once again. Along with Patidar, Krunal Pandya also played a brilliant knock. From Kohli to everyone, they have decided to hammer the bowling come what may.”
“The RCB batters are demolishing the bowling in such a way that the bowling side and the bowling captain don’t know what to do,” he said.
Krunal Pandya in IPL 2026
Pandya has been one of the best all-rounders of the tournament as a whole. He has been used as a floater with the bat and has made valuable contributions every time it was asked of him.
In 15 matches, Pandya has 225 runs at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 147 with one half-century. He also has 13 wickets at an economy of 8.64 and a bowling average of nearly 31.
