The father of brothers Hardik and Krunal Pandya, Himanshu Pandya tragically passed away on Saturday morning due to a cardiac arrest. Krunal, who is currently with his domestic side Baroda, has left the bio-secure bubble to be with his family.
"Yes, Krunal Pandya has left the bubble. It is a personal tragedy, Baroda Cricket Association mourns this loss of Hardik and Krunal," a spokesperson of Baroda Cricket Assocation told ANI.
Himanshu Pandya played a big role in supporting the brothers' professional cricket careers. According to Hardik, Himanshu was running a car business in Surat but he shut it down and moved to Vadodara to help his sons get better training facilities.
Hardik Pandya recently returned to India after spending over three months on the road, during which he took part in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates, and made a return to the Indian team in the limited-overs formats.
He played a key role in India's 2-1 triumph in the T20I series.
Krunal, meanwhile, was also a part of the IPL 2020 as both the brothers lifted the title with Mumbai Indians. He had returned to India after the IPL, but joined the bio-secure bubble to represent his domestic side Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Hardik had opted out of the domestic T20 tournament to get optimum rest for the upcoming international assignment against England, which would see a return of international action in India after the COVID-19 pandemic.
