LSG vs MI IPL 2022: Will Krunal Pandya’s KISS to Kieron Pollard land him in trouble?

It was meant to be friendly send-off from Lucknow Super Giants all-rounder Krunal Pandya to former Mumbai Indians teammate but Kieron Pollard did not look to be in the mood for any fun.

Lucknow Super Giants all-rounder Krunal Pandya (left) kisses Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard after dismissing him in their IPL 2022 match. (Photo: BCCI/IPL)

Lucknow Super Giants all-rounder Krunal Pandya could land up in big trouble after his ‘unique’ sending-off to former Mumbai Indians teammate Kieron Pollard in an IPL 2022 match on Sunday (April 24). Krunal ran up to Pollard after dismissing him at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and kissed the West Indian all-rounder on the back of his head to leave the MI player fuming.

Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar, who is a commentator at IPL 2022, was quick to notice this. “Oh bad, bad gesture by Krunal Pandya. I can bet Pollard hasn’t liked this a bit. Krunal could have been in trouble. Friendships should be kept beyond the boundary. Krunal should not have done this,” said Gavaskar on air.

It was meant to be friendly send-off from his former MI teammate but Pollard did not look to be in the mood for any fun. His face said it all, he walked off without any reaction. MI are winless in the tournament so far after losing eight matches on the trot in IPL 2022.

This Krunal pandya is literally an irritating character

Wtf he was doing with Pollard #LSGvsMI
Ishan Kishan pic.twitter.com/7wpszcbUj8 — frozen (@ein_scofield) April 24, 2022

Krunal went on to claim 3 wickets, including Pollard’s in the last over to play a big part in handing KL Rahul’s LSG a 36-run victory against a struggling MI side.

Pandya had previously dubbed the Trinidad all-rounder as a Gujarati for his ideology and beliefs about financial investments. “We call him grandpa. He is from West Indies but he is actually a Gujarati at heart. He literally functions like an Indian: a guy who believes in property, a guy who believes in investments, a guy who believes: instead of buying a car, I’ll buy property because it will grow, Ek rupiah Nahin waste karoonga [I won’t waste a rupee],” Pandya was quoted during IPL 2021.

Hardik had also revealed that it was because of his brother that he started talking to Pollard. “The relationship started because of Krunal. In 2015 at the IPL I did not speak to Polly. He was in the next room but it was just “Hi Polly, bye Polly.” In 2016, when Krunal came in, I started talking to Polly. Polly is now family, not just a friend, not just a team-mate,” Hardik had said.