'Cricket is his priority' – Krunal on brother Hardik Pandya

A back injury and a suspension for his comments on a talk show had kept Hardik out of the Indian team for about six months. But in that time, he put in the hard work needed and returned to play match-winning knocks in the Indian Premier League, where his strike-rate of 194.64 is second-best so far.

"When Hardik was out of the game because of injury and the [suspension] that happened, he utilised that time to work on his fitness," Krunal said after Mumbai Indians' win over Delhi Capitals in their away game on Thursday, 18 April. "He is the kind of player for whom cricket is a priority, no matter what. His work ethics are second to none. He puts in a lot of hard work."

Crediting Hardik's self-belief, he added, "His goal has always been to improve his game. If you improve, you become consistent.

"Every year if you see, he keeps on adding something to his game. He has a lot of self-belief ... I learn a lot of things from him. How to back yourself no matter how much you are struggling or doubtful, I learnt from him. He has that quality to always see the positive side."

On Thursday, Krunal and Hardik were involved in a 54-run stand for the fifth wicket against Delhi, helping Mumbai post a competitive 168/5. Hardik's 15-ball 32 drove the otherwise sluggish Mumbai innings in the final overs.

"It was a very tricky wicket. The way Hardik batted, he scored at a strike-rate of almost 200. That changed the momentum for us. I think we ended up with almost 20-30 more runs than we had thought of."

Hardik will soon be playing his first ICC Men's Cricket World Cup after being named in India's 15-member squad. With over 700 runs and 44 wickets in 45 ODIs, Hardik has been touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket.

After his selection, Hardik too had admitted that time away from the game helped him to focus and improve as a cricketer. "Everyone has a setback,” he had said. "I wanted to improve and I got some time for my body as well. I think the time I spent out is helping me right now because I’m in a good mind space and everything is coming right.

"It’s important to always have the confidence behind you because World Cup is a big stage. It’s for the first time I’m playing, and for me it was important to keep hitting the ball well because I was away from the game for some time, and coming back, it was important for me to hit it."