Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Krunal Pandya has opened up about his inspiring journey to becoming a professional cricketer and changing his life forever. Long before he made his debut in the Indian Premier League or for the Indian team, Krunal had a dreadful reality. His life was all about paperwork, small commissions and everyday survival.
In an exclusive interview with The Times of India, the 35-year-old revealed that he worked as a passport agent and second-hand car broker during his growing years. From a young age of 12, Krunal began assisting his late father Himanshu Pandya who was a passport advisory agent.
As he grew up, Krunal took learnings from his father about the work and soon started filling out applications, drafting legal affidavits, managing ration cards and everything that was required in the job.
Other than this, he also took up the role of a broker in the second-hand automobile market where he used to sell modest cars priced around INR 3 to 4 lakhs and earn a small agent fee of roughly 3,000 per deal.
Krunal Pandya acknowledged the sacrifices his father and mother made for him and his brother Hardik. Tough lessons in life has made Krunal so strong that he now craves for situations that are tough, believing it to be his way of living life and playing cricket.
“I actually wait and crave for situations where it is tough. I don’t know, I guess my way of playing cricket is actually what I’ve learned through my life. When I was 11-12 years old, I used to work with my dad. My dad was a passport advisor agent, so at 12, I used to go with him. So, I experienced life through business with my dad, mom at a very young age. And then I realized how tough life is. Sometimes our parents don’t tell us while we are growing up.” – Krunal said as quoted by the Times of India.
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Then I used to be a car broker once upon a time. So, I’ve seen life at a very young age from very close quarters. So I guess when I play the sport, I play the same way. I don’t give up. And when the situation is tough, I’m like, ‘I have to win it’. – Krunal Pandya concluded.
All those tough times is what shaped Krunal Pandya into the player he is today. Just like the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, the all-rounder also has 5 IPL titles to his name after he recently helped the Royal Challengers Bengaluru secure back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026.
