'One thing that I have realised is the life which I have got or which we have got as a family, a lot of hard work has been done by that man. We can say that we are just reaping the fruits of his efforts. He was the one who planted the seeds and made it blossom.'
India all-rounder Krunal Pandya on Monday said that the last two months have been difficult for him and his brother Hardik Pandya after their father passed away in January this year.
Krunal, who made his ODI debut last month, highlighted his father's role in his life and got emotional remembering his dad.
"It has been difficult last two months as well, I have to say because of what happened with dad. One thing that I have realised is the life which I have got or which we have got as a family, a lot of hard work has been done by that man. We can say that we are just reaping the fruits of his efforts. He was the one who planted the seeds and made it blossom," said Krunal in a video posted on Mumbai Indians' Twitter handle.
"Now when he's not there and there are so many good things happening...you feel the weight of all that he did and gave us. Somewhere I feel that one part of my heart has gone with him," he further said.
"Yes, people say time heals everything but what I feel is from here on, whenever I do good things in life, I'll always remember him. Just two days before he passed away on the 14th of January, he called me after seeing one of my innings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which was in Baroda. He saw and said 'I've seen your knock, I've seen you play from the age of six... But one thing I'll tell you, after watching this knock is that your time will come now," an emotional Krunal added.
Against England in the first ODI of the three-match series, Krunal scored 58 off just 31 balls.
Both Krunal and Hardik will be seen in action for Mumbai Indians in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which begins on April 9 with the defending champions taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
