“How Krunal Is For Me, Kieron Pollard Is The Same”: Hardik Pandya On Camaraderie With West Indies All-Rounder

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has called his Mumbai Indians (MI) teammate Kieron Pollard a ‘Gujarati’ by heart and said the West Indies limited-overs skipper functions like an ‘Indian guy’. “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.

Pandya further said that Pollard is not only a friend but a ‘family’ now.

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“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.

India will open its T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. After the upcoming T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli will be stepping down as the side’s captain in the shortest format.