Will Deepak Hooda, who had fought with Krunal last year, play for Baroda again?

Mumbai: Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) is trying to convince Deepak Hooda to come back and represent Baroda again in the forthcoming domestic season.

Hooda moved to Rajasthan last season after his spat with the Baroda skipper Krunal Pandya during the 2020-21 season. Both have since patched up, and even played for the same IPL team.

A BCA official said the association now is trying to convince Hooda to come back to his state.

“Whatever has happened, has happened. We are trying to convince Hooda to come back and play for Baroda again. He too has now patched up with Krunal, so there is no reason left for not coming back to Baroda. We had already expressed our interest in him and it will be his decision. We are hoping that he agrees to it,” a BCA official told.

It is learnt Hooda hasn’t made up his mind and will inform about his decision post IPL where he is playing for Lucknow Super Giants along with Krunal.

“Krunal Pandya is like my brother, and brothers do fight. We are playing with one aim, which is to win games for LSG,” Hooda had told Dainik Jagran in an interview during IPL.

A year ago, all-rounder Hooda stepped out of Baroda’s bio-bubble ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy following a spat with captain Krunal. Hooda alleged that Krunal had even threatened him that he would not play for Baroda again. Hooda then left the Baroda team and joined Rajasthan to play domestic cricket.

However, things fell in place when they met again in the ongoing IPL where they both were picked by the Lucknow franchise. Hooda was sold for 5.75 crore, while Krunal was bought for a whopping Rs 8.25 crore by the Lucknow-based franchise.