From passport agent to five-time IPL champion: RCB's Krunal Pandya shares inspirational life story

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From passport agent to five-time IPL champion: RCB's Krunal Pandya shares inspirational life story originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:​

• Krunal Pandya worked as a passport agent and car broker as a teenager before his cricket career took off
• The RCB all-rounder credits his difficult upbringing for shaping his never-give-up mentality on the field
• Pandya has won five IPL titles, including back-to-back championships with RCB in 2025 and 2026

From passport agent to five-time IPL champion: RCB's Krunal Pandya shares inspirational life story​

With their successful title defence on May 31, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru became one of the only three teams to win two IPL titles in a row. And while Virat Kohli might be the name that's trending everywhere, Krunal Pandya has been the name that RCB has depended on throughout their campaign.

But behind the glam and the glitter is a man who has worked a long way to now stand as a 5-time IPL champion, and in a recent interview, he finally decided to give snippets of his childhood.

Long before his first IPL trophy with the Mumbai Indians in 2017, Pandya was earning his stripes in far less glamorous surroundings.

Starting at just 11, he began working alongside his father, Himanshu, a passport advisory agent, running paperwork and errands while most children his age were simply playing cricket.

"I actually wait and crave 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," Pandya told the Times of India.

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Passport work added resilience to Krunal Pandya​

Pandya further revealed filled forms, drafted affidavits, managed ration cards, and visited the Times of India office for name corrections, building the disciplined work ethic that he would later carry onto a cricket field.

"I don't give up. And when the situation is tough, I'm like, 'I have to win it'. I've always realised one thing. You play the sport the way you live your life," he added.

The passport work was just part of Pandya's unconventional early life. He also spent time as a car broker in the second-hand automobile market, earning small commissions on each transaction. When you see him bowling in the red and black of RCB today, it is easy to see where that resilience came from.

MORE: Former India star reveals which franchise Pandya will join after leaving MI

From Baroda Streets to IPL Champion​

Now, all these years down the line, Pandya has become perhaps one of the biggest winners in IPL history and even scalped some crucial wickets in last year's final against Punjab.

While the all-rounder's time as a cricketer might be in its sunset phase with him being 35, he remains deadly with his slow arm and his fiery batting in the middle overs.

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