'We will always miss you, you will always be with us.'
Brothers Krunal and Hardik Pandya revealed that they had brought the bag of their late father Himanshu in the Indian dressing room to feel his presence, during the first ODI against England in Pune on Tuesday.
Krunal made a dream start to his 50-overs career for India as he slammed the fastest half-century by a debutant in One-Day Internationals.
He finished unbeaten on a whirlwind innings of 58 from 31 balls, to help India outclass England by 66 runs in the series opener.
"Dream come true, I have worked so hard to be here, especially in the last 1.5 months I have been putting in the hard yards, not in terms of cricket, but everything from taking care of my father. This is all dedicated to my old man, this is due to his blessings. It is an emotional moment for you and me. Getting a cap from you, somewhere up in the air, he will be having a good night today and enjoying how I batted," Krunal told Hardik in the video posted on bcci.tv.
"I have not been working thinking about the results, lately my focus has been on how can I be the best version of myself and how I can improve as a human being. The only constant focus is on how I can give myself the best possible opportunity. This is the result that I have got, there is a lot of hard work that has gone behind it."
Krunal further said that he feels secure with the blessings of his late father Himanshu, who passed away in January.
"Blessings are there, I feel more secure. Our father passed away on the 16th morning, I was playing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Our father had a habit of keeping everything ready, his shoes, his pant, and his hat. Before this game, I got our dad's bag here, I know he is not with us, I thought I will bring his bag and keep it with us in the dressing room," said the all-rounder
Hardik, who fell after scoring just one, said he was not disappointed as he got to witness his elder brother's smashing performance with the bat.
"I genuinely felt good that I got out, you were batting that well. I was sitting here and thinking it is good that I got out. I saw something very special. Our father passed at 4 in the morning, he was someone who used to keep his stuff ready for the next day. Actually, Krunal has been carrying the bag. He is always going to be with us, this one is you for dad. We will always miss you, you will always be with us," said Hardik.
