IPL 2022: Deepak Hooda Finds A New Brother And He Is None Other Than LSG Teammate Krunal Pandya

Their (Hooda and Krunal) alleged rivalry dates back to January 2021 when the Rohtak cricketer had accused the Mumbai all-rounder of abusing him, as a result of which he had withdrawn his name from last year's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

New Delhi: It was a matter of disbelief for Indian cricket fans, when Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir decided to rope in Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda for the same team. The disbelief was so much that Gambhir was asked what was the reason behind it, to which he said – You don’t need to best friends to win a cricket tournament.

Their (Hooda and Krunal) alleged rivalry dates back to January 2021 when the Rohtak cricketer had accused the Mumbai all-rounder of abusing him, as a result of which he had withdrawn his name from last year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

And now, Hooda in an interview has confirmed that all is well between him and Krunal. Calling Krunal his brother, Hooda said, “Krunal Pandya is like my brother, and brothers do fight. We are playing with one aim, which is to win games for LSG.”

After that ugly episode, Krunal was named the captain of Baroda and Deepak was named his deputy that season. Although, Hooda left Baroda’s domestic team and joined Rajasthan for the upcoming season.

All-rounder Deepak Hooda, whose base accelerated from INR 40 lakh to 75 lakh due to his debut in ODIs against the West Indies, saw interest from Rajasthan, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. But it was Lucknow who succeeded in picking him for INR 5.75 crores.