WATCH: Former foes Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda hug each other after Shubman Gill’s dismissal

Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda are currently playing for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), led by KL Rahul, in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Both cricketers have a controversial history when they both used to play for Baroda in the Indian domestic circuit. Back in 2021, Hooda gave rise to a controversy after saying that Krunal used ‘abusive language’ and delivered ‘threats to end his career’.

Afterwards, Krunal left Baroda’s bio-secure bubble and subsequently, the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) suspended him. In the mega auction that took place on February 12 and 13, LSG toped in Hooda for a price of INR 5.75 crores after a bidding war with Rajasthan Royals (RR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Mumbai Indians (MI), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Krunal, on the other hand, went to the Lucknow-based franchise for a price of INR 8.25 crores. The duo played LSG’s opening game against the Gujarat Titans, captained by Hardik Pandyaat the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. During the game, Hooda and Krunal were involved in a heartfelt moment.

After being asked to chase down 159, the Titans got off to a poor start as Dushmantha Chameera got rid of Shubman Gill, who had played four seasons for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Gill went for an audacious aerial stroke over the off-side field, but ended up mistiming it badly.

Hooda settled himself under the ball and took the catch without much troubles. After he took the catch, Krunal came and gave him a tight hug out of sheer joy and delight. Gill perished without opening his account.

Here’s the video of Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda sharing a hug

Earlier, Hooda had a decent day with the bat in hand. After the Super Giants lost four wickets for 29 runs, the right-handed batter scored 55 runs off 41 balls with six fours and two sixes. He also shared an 87-run stand with Ayush Badoni for the fifth wicket.

Krunal also played some impressive shots and scored 21 runs off 13 balls with the help of three fours. The knocks from Hooda and Krunal helped the Super Giants get past the 150-run mark.