IPL 2021: Krunal Pandya gets trolled after Deepak Hooda blast, know why

Punjab Kings batsman Deepak Hooda acknowledges the cheers after blasting 64 against Rajasthan Royals. (Source: Twitter)

Punjab Kings batsman Deepak Hooda was a man on a mission on Monday (April 12) night. Sent at the No. 4 position in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 clash against Rajasthan Royals, Hooda blasted a 20-ball half-century en route to scoring 64.

This was Hooda’s first major outing in the middle for the season after being suspended by his home association – Baroda Cricket Association – earlier this season. But while the Punjab Kings fans celebrated, Mumbai Indians all-rounder Krunal Pandya got trolled on social media.

Hooda reached first smashed two sixes off Shivam Dube’s over and followed it up by fetching another three maximums of Shreyas Gopal’s over to get his innings going. Hooda’s blitz was ended by Chris Morris after he holed out at long-on in an attempt to clear the boundary.

Hooda was slated to be a vital cog for the Baroda team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. However, the player quit his team ahead of the competition after alleging that he was ‘bullied’ by captain Krunal Pandya.

Hooda, who has played 46 first-class matches, was miffed at the behaviour of Pandya, who has represented India and sent an e-mail to the cricket body. “At this moment, I am demoralised, depressed and under pressure. As from last some days, my team captain Mr. Krunal Pandya is using abusing language to me in front of my teammates and also other state teams who have come for participation at Reliance Stadium Vadodara,” Hooda wrote in the letter to BCA.

“Today I was practising in nets and doing my preparation for tomorrow’s game with the permission of head coach Mr Prabhakar. Then Krunal came in nets (and) started misbehaving with me,” alleged Hooda. Hooda was reprimanded by the BCA for his actions and the Deepak Hooda Krunal Pandya fallout made headlines earlier this year.

Several reactions poured in as fans trolled the southpaw after Hooda's exploits. Deepak Hooda started his IPL career with Rajasthan Royals in 2014 where he played for two years (2014-15) and earned Rs 40 lakh per season. The all-rounder was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016 and played for them till 2019.

With Sunrisers Hooda earned Rs 4.2 crore annually for the first two seasons and Rs 3.6 crore each for the last two seasons. Hooda was bought by Punjab Kings in IPL 2020 for Rs 50 lakh.