Manish Pandey included in 14-man squad to face West Indies in T20I

By Disha Shetty
Manish Pandey, the Karnataka batsman, said he was as much relieved as anything else after earning his maiden call-up to India’s Twenty20 International squad on Tuesday (October 14). Pandey, 25, was included in the 14-man squad to face West Indies in the one-off T20I in Cuttack on October 22.

“Obviously, it is a big relief after working so hard,” Pandey told Wisden India. “I wasn’t quite expecting it though, I just focused on my batting and nothing else was playing on my mind. But it has been great, I’m feeling very good today.”

Pandey first learnt of his selection from this correspondent. “Then, slowly people started messaging after the squad was out and then there were a lot of Twitter updates and alerts. That’s when it sunk in that I was picked in the Indian side,” said an elated Pandey. “It is just one game but I’m hoping for the best to happen. I have been waiting for this for a long, long time.”

Pandey’s first taste of the big stage came in 2008 when he was a part of the India Under-19 team that won the World Cup under Virat Kohli. But it wasn’t until May 2009 that he shot into prominence when he became the first Indian centurion in IPL. Only 19 then, he smashed a 73-ball 114 for Royal Challengers Bangalore against the erstwhile Deccan Chargers in Centurion.

Though Pandey was drafted into the 30-member list of probables for the World T20 2010 thereafter, he never made it to the final squad. 43. In June this year, Pandey’s match-winning 94 in the final against Kings XI Punjab led Kolkata Knight Riders to their second IPL title. He continued his rich vein of form in the Champions League T20 and finished the tournament with 172 runs at an average of 43.

Pandey was understandably pleased that his recent successes in the shortest format have been rewarded. “I love batting in all formats of the game. But as it turns out, my recent performances in the T20s have been noticed,” remarked Pandey. “I have done well in all the T20 teams I’ve played for, so keeping that in mind, the selectors have given me a go in T20s.”

A regular for Karnataka in all formats since the 2009-10 season, Pandey has had sporadic success after a sensational first full season where he made 882 runs in nine matches in the Ranji Trophy. The IPL innings might have given him his ticket out of anonymity, but Pandey is keen to carve his identity at the international level.

“I would definitely love to play Tests and one-dayers as well,” said Pandey, who made 729 runs from 11 matches to play a big part in Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy triumph in the season gone by. “It is a bigger platform and gives an opportunity to learn a lot of new things. But as of now, I’m very happy with the T20 call-up and will look to make the most of it.”