Krunal Pandya

The arrival

Krunal Pandya arrived through the auction: Mumbai Indians paid ₹2 cr, against a base price of ₹10 lakh.

That first season brought 12 matches, 237 runs and 6 wickets at 7.57 an over.

The peak

The high point with the bat was 2017, for Mumbai Indians: 243 runs at an average of 30.4, striking at 135.8 in a season when the league as a whole struck at 133.4, and a highest score of 47. Mumbai Indians won the title that year.

Measured against the league around it, though, the most destructive season was 2016: 237 runs at a strike rate of 191.1, 60 runs per hundred balls quicker than the IPL as a whole that year.

With the ball, the best season was 2025, for Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 17 wickets at 8.24 runs an over, while the league's bowlers went for 9.48, with best figures of 4 for 45. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the title that year.

Franchise by franchise

2016 to 2021, Mumbai Indians. Bought at the 2016 auction for ₹2 cr. 84 matches, 1,143 runs and 51 wickets; champions in 2017, 2019 and 2020.

2022 to 2024, Lucknow Super Giants. Bought at the 2022 auction for ₹8.25 cr. 43 matches, 504 runs and 25 wickets.

2025 to 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Bought at the 2025 auction for ₹5.75 cr. 31 matches, 335 runs and 31 wickets; champions in 2025 and 2026.

3 spells with three franchises in all. The longest was with Mumbai Indians, 2016 to 2021.

Bat, ball and method

Across the career, Krunal Pandya has struck at 133.8. The league around those same seasons, weighted by how much batting each one involved, struck at 139.0, so Krunal Pandya has scored about 5 runs per hundred balls slower than the typical batter of the time, a trade usually made for longer innings. 58% of the runs came in fours and sixes: 173 fours and 76 sixes.

The ball-by-ball record adds the detail. 36.5% of the balls Krunal Pandya faced were dot balls, a higher share than 55% of the 140 batters who have faced 500 balls or more in the IPL. A six came every 19.5 balls, and a four every 8.6.

With the ball, 107 wickets in 2,704 deliveries, at 7.57 runs an over against a league rate of 8.66 for the same seasons: 1.09 an over cheaper than the typical bowler of the time, the mark of a bowler who kept things tight. There was one four-wicket haul, and the best figures were 4 for 45.

31.3% of the balls Krunal Pandya bowled were dots, a lower share than 86% of the 150 bowlers with 500 balls or more; a wicket came every 25.2 balls.

The fielding record: 49 catches and 2 run-outs.

At the auction

Krunal Pandya has gone under the hammer four times. The highest price was ₹8.80 cr, paid by Mumbai Indians in 2018, more than 22 times the base price. The price climbed with the reputation: ₹2 cr in 2016, ₹5.75 cr by 2025.

Seasons without an auction entry were played under a retention, a trade or a signing made outside the auction.

Where it stands

Krunal Pandya has made 158 IPL appearances, the latest for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2026, and has won 9 player-of-the-match awards.