Hardik and Krunal Pandya’s father passed away due to cardiac arrest

Himanshu Pandya, father of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya has passed away on Saturday after cardiac arrest.

Hardik and Krunal have often spoken about their parents’ contribution in supporting their careers as professional cricketers. According to Hardik, Himanshu was running a small car finance business in Surat but he shut it down and moved to Vadodara to help his sons get better access to training facilities.

Himanshu then enrolled both Hardik and Krunal in former India wicketkeeper Kiran More’s cricket academy in Vadodara from where the two brothers began to garner attention.

Hardik Pandya returned to India last month following the completion of the limited-overs series against Australia in Australia. The India all-rounder was not picked for the Test series as he was not yet ready to bowl lengthy spells as he has been treating his back with care. Hardik had suffered a series of back injuries in the past that have hampered his stints in the senior national team.

Meanwhile, Krunal Pandya was leading Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 campaign in Vadodara. Pitching in with all-round performances (4 wickets and 77 runs from 2 innings), Krunal had lead Baroda to the top of the Elite C Group with 3 wins from as many games.

Hardik did not choose to play Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as he had begun preparations for the limited-overs series against England. During the break between the series, Hardik had been spending time with his wife Natasa Stankovic and their newborn.

Hardik and Natarasa welcomed a baby boy in August 2020. The star couple named their son Agastya. In fact, Hardik had said he was missing the opportunity to spend time with the newborn as he had left for the Indian Premier League in August following which he flew to Australia from the UAE.