3 reasons why Krunal Pandya is a highly underrated all-rounder

Krunal Pandya announced his arrival in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team by taking a three-wicket haul on his IPL debut for the franchise. Playing against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, Pandya bowled a match-winning spell of 3/29 in four overs.

Pandya did not have the best start with the ball as Sunil Narine and Ajinkya Rahane took him to the cleaners in his first over in RCB colors. However, the left-arm spinner bounced back by dismissing Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, and Rinku Singh.

The set-up to dismiss Iyer was perfect as he bowled a bouncer to him when he was batting without a helmet. Iyer then asked for a helmet, which led to a short break. Pandya then bowled a length delivery, which rattled the KKR all-rounder's stumps. He similarly dismissed Rinku to push KKR on the backfoot.

Krunal Pandya's game-changing spell helped him win the Player of the Match award in the IPL 2025 season opener. In this listicle now, we will look at the three reasons why Krunal is severely underrated as an all-rounder.

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#1 Krunal Pandya has unique variations

One of the best things about a bowler like Krunal Pandya is that he can be used in any phase of the match. He is a quality left-arm spinner, who does not turn the ball much, but has a good amount of variations to trouble the batters.

The variations help Krunal play mind games with the batters. While he does get predictable at times, the RCB all-rounder has developed quite a few tricks to outsmart the batters in his long IPL career.

The best example was the wicket of Venkatesh Iyer. It is rare to see a spinner bowl a bouncer in any format of the game, but Krunal did that so Venkatesh asked for a helmet and also played the next ball from his crease. It led to the dismissal of KKR's most expensive signing of IPL 2025.

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#2 Krunal Pandya can bat anywhere in the middle order

While the captain can use Krunal as a bowler any time in the 20 overs, one can also place him in the batting order at any place depending on the match's situation. RCB did not send him to bat even though the team lost three wickets in the IPL 2025 match against KKR, but they could send him at number four or five during the upcoming games.

Back in 2016, the Mumbai Indians sent Krunal to bat at number three in a match against the Delhi Capitals, and he played a magnificent knock of 86 runs from just 37 balls. Perhaps, RCB should try Krunal at number three instead of Devdutt Padikkal.

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#3 Domestic cricket captaincy has made Krunal Pandya a smart cricketer

India is home to several talented domestic cricket teams. Krunal is the captain of the Baroda team. While there have been some complaints from Krunal's teammates about his behavior, one cannot deny that the captaincy experience has made Krunal a very smart cricketer.

In the match between KKR and RCB, KKR were in a commanding position at 107/1 after their first 10 overs. Some of the other bowlers would have given up from that stage, allowing KKR to easily reach 200.

However, once Rasikh Salam broke the stand between Sunil Narine and Ajinkya Rahane, Krunal came back to derail the KKR innings. He smartly got rid of Rahane, Iyer, and Rinku Singh to turn the game in RCB's favor. His captaincy experience helped him plot the perfect game plan to help RCB stage a comeback in the second half.