India all-rounder Krunal Pandya wrote a heartfelt post for his brother Hardik Pandya after the latter's crucial contribution to India's victory in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Hardik Pandya has had a remarkable year thus far, ranging from the lows of the Indian Premier League 2024—when he was frequently jeered for struggling with his form—to the highs of spearheading his country's T20 World Cup campaign.

Notably, Hardik dismissed the set batter David Miller with the very first ball of the match, successfully defending 15 runs. Hardik also bowled the vital final over of the match against South Africa. India ended their 11-year ICC championship drought by winning the match by a margin of seven runs and winning their second T20 World Cup championship. All the venom that had been directed on the India all-rounder in recent months has been replaced with loud acclaim after their victory, making Hardik a national hero.

In an Instagram post, Krunal described his brother's challenges and said that he had been emotionally affected over the past several days by watching Hardik at the center of India's historic victory. “It’s almost been a decade since Hardik and I started playing professional cricket. And the last few days have been like a fairy tale that we’ve dreamt off. Like every countryman I’ve lived this through our teams heroics and I couldn’t be more emotional with my brother being at the heart of it,” wrote Krunal in his Instagram post.

“The last six months have been the toughest for Hardik. He simply didn’t deserve what he went through, and as a brother, I felt very, very bad for him. From booing, to people saying all kinds of nasty things, at the end of the day, we all forgot that he is just a human being who also has emotions. He somehow passed through all of this with a smile, though I know how hard it was for him to put on a smile. He kept working hard and focusing on what he needed to do to get the World Cup since that was his ultimate objective,” he added.

“He has now played his heart out to realise India’s long standing dream - And nothing has ever meant to him more. From the age of 6 - It’s playing for the country and winning the World Cup that’s been the dream. I just want to remind people that what Hardik has done in such a short span in his career is unbelievable. His efforts for the national team have never been compromised. Every time, at every stage of Hardik’s life, people have written him off, and that has only motivated him to come back even stronger,” Krunal further wrote.