NEW DELHI: If you take away pitch, weather, ground measurements and the opposition, then what Krunal Pandya does with the ball looks like a craft—and an art. In IPL 2026, as batting continues to dominate and the game often tips in favour of hitters, the left-arm spinner has repeatedly brought balance back whenever he’s been called upon. With a street-smart mind and a bag of variations, Krunal has stayed ahead of batters, tweak after tweak, over the course of the season.
In a tournament where franchises increasingly fixate on matchups, sometimes valuing the head-to-head over raw skill, Royal Challengers Bengaluru appear to have one solution that works across scenarios. For Krunal, it doesn’t matter whether a left-hander or right-hander is at the crease—either way, he finds a method. Even when the game turns into a phase-by-phase battle, his role in the death overs has remained steady. He is equipped for every situation, and the composure with which he operates across different periods has been a major reason he continues to be effective.
That calm has been especially noticeable even when Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja have been underused at times because of those matchup-driven decisions. Krunal has carried a large share of the load for RCB in IPL 2026, including at the unforgiving Chinnaswamy. Axar bowled Nitish Rana’s part-time off-spin when the left-hand batsmen from SRH were flourishing. RR skipper Riyan Parag, meanwhile, doesn’t appear convinced by Jadeja’s threat, but Rajat Patidar has shown that he trusts Krunal’s ability to deliver.
The numbers underline that trust. Krunal has sent down 25 overs across 7 matches. Jadeja has bowled 15 overs in 8 games, while Axar has completed 23 overs from 7 appearances. Krunal’s run concession rate is higher than those other two experienced finger spinners, but his bravery and the way he attacks batters have helped him stand out from the group.
A good example came in RCB’s away encounter against the Rajasthan Royals, when young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was in full flow. Krunal didn’t just remove the danger man; he also caught the newcomer, Shimron Hetmyer, by surprise with a well-aimed bouncer. That’s been a recurring theme in his spell this season—bouncers that land with accuracy and intent rather than being thrown in for show.
It’s not only the bouncer, though. Krunal changes his pace, varies his release points, messes with the batter’s timing around the popping crease, and still manages to hit yorkers with the precision of a fast bowler. The combination of these small adjustments is what makes his bowling difficult to read.
“Pushing the boundaries”
On the eve of RCB’s fixture against the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik praised Krunal for moving beyond what people expect from a finger-spinner. Karthik, who had reinvented the batting approach during his “finishing” phase with the franchise, highlighted how Krunal’s skill set is rewriting the role in the modern game.
“He is a player that this game is going to remember for a long time because he is doing something that has not been done before. He’s pushing the boundaries of what a finger-spinner means,” Karthik said to reporters on Sunday. In Karthik’s view, IPL itself is shifting cricket’s landscape, and Krunal is reshaping how finger-spin can be used.
Bouncers to create doubt
For Krunal, the variations are not about looking stylish. The bouncers aren’t delivered simply to win attention—despite the braids, which have become part of his on-field identity. The real purpose is to “create a doubt in the batter.” That approach has worked against top-level hitters, including his current teammate Venkatesh Iyer, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders last season.
The bouncer forced Iyer to call for a helmet, and on the following ball the batter was caught off-guard, with the delivery crashing into the woodwork. That sequence captured the essence of Krunal’s bowling plan: he doesn’t just execute—he sets traps and then follows them through.
“He’s bowling deliveries that people really couldn’t fathom a few years ago, and he’s using them very cleverly. He’s not someone who’s just doing it because it looks cool. He knows that it does create a doubt in the batter. He is a trend-setter. IPL is changing the landscape of cricket, and Krunal is changing the landscape of finger-spin bowling,” Karthik added.
Hopes of an international return
Krunal’s most recent appearance for India came in 2021, when he featured in a T20I against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Since then, he has continued his journey across different IPL franchises while also working hard in the domestic circuit for his state, Baroda. Through it all, his focus has remained the same: staying one step ahead of batters.
In a conversation with JioHotstar, the all-rounder voiced a strong desire to wear the Indian jersey again. The 35-year-old, however, doesn’t need to look far for motivation, with his biggest support system coming from RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik—someone who has been closely associated with major comebacks in his own career.
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