'Ready to play waiting game'

Manish Pandey waited long for his turn to bat as the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandey and MS Dhoni swapped nets (spin, fast and throw-downs) between them. And when it was his time to bat, it started raining. He scampered for cover and resumed his batting after it stopped raining. His frustration was apparent when the skies opened up again, halting his session again here at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium.

His practice day wasn’t too dissimilar to how his career with the Indian team has panned out so far. He had to wait longer than many of his contemporaries to make the India cut; untimely injuries and team requirements alternately obstructing his natural progression. Having finally made his debut in July 2015, Pandey has played just 12 one-day internationals in over two years – not a true reflection of the talent he has and the consistent performances that he has churned out season after season in domestic cricket.

“Honestly, I have waited a long time to come to the Indian side and I’m used to it (waiting) now,” Pandey said after winding up his training. “IPL (2017) was going good for me - 10 games, about 400 runs - and then I missed those crucial two games (Eliminator and Qualifier 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians respectively). But it’s part of the game, that’s what you do (wait for your opportunity) and I’ve played the waiting game really well so far and it’s okay for me,” offered Pandey.

Injuries at various stages of his career obviously have had a big part in his sporadic appearances for India. The most disappointing one has to be his side strain that ruled him out of the Champions Trophy and the subsequent tour of West Indies.         

“Talking about the injury, I think that was a really sad part,” Pandey recalled. “It’s really tough. Sometimes, when you are not in form, it doesn’t really hurt as much as when you’re doing well and suddenly get injured. But I think you take it in the stride and that’s the time when you get to learn what the weak part of your body is and where you have to work. I had enough time, about six weeks, to work on myself and a couple of things I had to do. It was good for me in a way but yeah, obviously a little disappointed about the time it happened but it’s always good to come back,” he remarked.

With the exclusion of Yuvraj Singh for the series against Sri Lanka, Pandey’s middle-order openings had brightened but with KL Rahul assured to bat at No 4, the Karnataka batsman may have to keep playing his waiting game. 

“That’s where I bat in the middle-order,” Pandey reiterated when asked how he looked at his middle-order chances with chief selector MSK Prasad categorically saying that Rahul would bat at No 4. “That’s where I have been batting for a long time. But if the team thinks somebody else can do that role really well, and KL has been batting really well in the Tests, I would love to see that happen. It does change the middle order a little bit but that’s just one or two changes. We agree with what the management has to say. We abide by that.”

Pandey’s comfort level while batting at No 4 is obvious -- his lone century, the match-winning unbeaten 104 against Australia in Sydney, came at that position. In the home series against New Zealand when he had scores of 17, 19, 28 n.o., 12 and zero, on three of those occasions he was sent in at five or below.  

“The game I played in Australia, I batted No 4. That’s where I normally bat, and that’s where I know how many overs I have to play,” Pandey stressed when asked about not making most of his limited opportunities. “Batting at No 6 or No 5 was a bit new for me during the New Zealand series, and I think it took me some time to get used to that situation with only 15-odd overs left in the game. You can’t settle in from that position, you just need to go out and go at everything from ball one. I think I have adapted to that situation well now. Let’s see how it goes,” he analysed.