India vs Sri Lanka: Inconsistent or unlucky? The curious case of Manish Pandey
India vs Sri Lanka: Inconsistent or unlucky? The curious case of Manish Pandey
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It seems a long time since Manish Pandey played that mature knock of 71 (against Zimbabwe) on his international debut. It seems a long time since Manish Pandey hit that sumptuous unbeaten maiden century in only his fourth international innings to save India from the ignominy of a 5-0 whitewash against Australia at the SCG. It seems a long time since Manish Pandey became the first Indian to score a century in the Indian Premier League. It seems a long time since Manish Pandey last played an ODI for India (February 2020) or a T20I (December 2020).
Somehow, with Manish Pandey, everything seems a distant memory. Such has been the nature of the 31-year-old's career. Ever since he made his India debut, he's been constantly in and out of the side and that's why everything seems long ago. He wasn't included in either the ODI or T20I series against England at home earlier this year. However, with India fielding two teams at the same time, one in England and one in Sri Lanka, Pandey is back in the squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
Whether it was an injury or he was simply dropped for the home series against England, it's unclear because selectors didn't speak about it. And it raises more questions than answers.
As Pandey heads into the ODI series, he stands at a crossroads in his career.
After not being included in the England series squads, he was dropped from the central contracts list for the 2020-21 season by the BCCI.
With India looking to change the approach, from relatively conservative to a more fearless one in T20Is, and looking to add flair and flamboyance in the squad and the competition heating up in the middle order, that proverbial questions pop up again - where does Manish Pandey stand? And is this his last chance?
The answer isn't simple, just like Pandey's journey in international cricket.
Over the years, he has divided opinions. Is he inconsistent or unlucky?
Last year in December, when India had lost the first two of the three ODIs on the Australian tour and Pandey wasn't included even in the dead rubber, former Karnataka and India player Dodda Ganesh came out in support of the 31-year-old.
"By the time Manish Pandey retires from international cricket he would’ve set a world record for warming the benches for most number of matches," Ganesh tweeted.
"If you can’t give a game to Manish even in a dead rubber why have him in the fifteen, in the first place? He’s played only 3 games in the last 2 years," he added.
If you can’t give a game to Manish even in a dead rubber why have him in the fifteen, in the first place ? He’s played only 3 games in the last 2 years #DoddaMathu #AUSvIND
— ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ | Dodda Ganesh (@doddaganesha) December 2, 2020
While, speaking ahead of the Sri Lanka series, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who's a part of the commentary panel for the India-Sri Lanka series, felt that somewhere down the line, Pandey hasn't made the most of the chances presented to him.
"Manish Pandey's career has been a long one," Manjrekar said. "It's never been about Manish Pandey being an established player who's played 100 international white-ball matches on the trot. But there have been occasions where he's been at fault as well where you felt that he didn't quite cash in on the time. He got a hundred in Australia in one of the last matches that were played and after that, there was an opportunity for him to just cash in and cement his place in the side. And that's where when you have competition especially in the batting department, you get an opportunity in India, you've got to make that count. So somewhere Pandey has also been responsible that he's been not as consistent as you would want. There is a lot of batting talent in India. So yes, unfortunate, that's how his career has been. But I don't think there's anyone else to be blamed and I've always felt that's the best way to look at anyone's career is you find areas of improvement within yourself."
An ODI average of 35.14 doesn't elicit purrs. However, he's not done much wrong in T20Is and currently holds the sixth-best overall average of 44.31. Pandey might not have made the most of the chances he's got. But it might be a case of domino effect as well. Comeback, benched, dropped. The musical chairs have been his constant companion. And not just with the place in the side, with his batting positions as well. He's hardly provided any stability in the team.
Luck (or the lack of it) may have been a significant factor in his career. He had to wait to get onto the international scene. When he finally received his maiden call-up, in October 2014 for the one-off T20I against West Indies, the men from the Caribbean dramatically pulled out mid-way through the tour. The wait stretched to nine more months before he finally made his debut in the final match of the three-match ODI series on the Zimbabwe tour in 2015 with the senior players rested. It came on the back of prolific form in the domestic arena. He started off with 71 on debut coming in at a tricky position of 68/3. He made his T20I debut on the same tour. And didn't find a place in the squads against South Africa three months later.
Droppings and benchings have been a constant theme since then. Injuries also haven't helped. In the 16 ODI series that he's been a part of post his debut, he's played all the matches in a particular series only four times. He's been part of the squad for 64 ODIs but played in under 50 percent of them, just 26. The longest consecutive streak, without getting dropped or benched, has been just nine ODIs.
Click here if you cannot view the statistical graph of Manish Pandey's series and match appearances.
In T20Is, he's been part of the squad for 20 series (of two or more matches) but has played all matches in a series just 10 times. In the 62 T20Is he's been part of the squad, he's played 39 matches, about 61 percent. The longest consecutive streak without getting dropped or benched has been 14 T20Is.
Not just the benchings, in between he has been dropped as well. He's gone back and scored tons of runs in the domestic circuit and 'A' tours which have made it difficult to ignore him.
He's not had the privilege of a sustained longer run in the team. Shouldn't he have been given one instead of recalling the 'well past their prime', less-deserving seniors? This is the question that keeps lingering.
Such a start-stop career doesn't help. You have to start all over again every time you come in. And it brings with itself insecurities and pressure. It does play on the mind. And then you are consistently shifted in the batting order, to make it worse.
In the 21 ODI innings Pandey's batted, he's played at No 4 seven times, at No 5 seven times and No 6 seven times. The most consecutive innings he's batted at one position is four innings, at No 4.
In T20Is, he's batted 10 innings at No 4, 15 at No 5, seven at No 6 and one at No 7. The most consecutive innings he's batted at one position is six inns, at No 5.
He hasn't had a stable position and that could be one of the factors for inconsistency. Yes, he has finished matches in the past but he isn't an out-and-out finisher or an out-and-out power-hitter. He is an anchor who gradually builds his innings, takes time to start off, then gets into the flow with singles and twos and the odd boundary and then ups the aggression. And with the strong top order that India possess, there have been times where he's had nothing to do or has had very little time to get going or make a significant contribution coming in at the fag end of the innings.
Amongst the current crop that has batted in the top 6, Pandey has the joint fifth-most number of not outs – 7 – after Virat Kohli (39), Rohit Sharma (32) and Dinesh Karthik (21), Kedar Jadhav (19) in ODIs. And third most not outs overall for India – 17 – after Dhoni (42) and Kohli (24), in T20Is. In ODI's he has five 'Did not bat' while in T20Is, it's six times when he did not got a chance to bat.
At four, he gets that time to get into his zone and then takes on the bowling. And he's batted most of his domestic career at three or four. No 6 becomes a lot trickier for him.
However, this is where Pandey needs to adapt now. With India moving towards the new aggressive approach, there is no shortage of firepower in the young crop of players. In fact, India is spoilt for choice with the likes of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, which makes it even tougher for Pandey especially to get back into the T20 side. He's not done much wrong in T20Is though. He had the sixth-highest T20I average of 44.31. Yes, it gets inflated due to the 17 not-outs he's had in 39 innings but that's a positive in itself. In 10 out of his last fourteen innings, he's remained unbeaten. And it was just three innings ago that he had scored a 50 not out off 36 balls against New Zealand at Wellington.
He however has faced criticism for his approach in the shortest format. The last two-three years have been a roller-coaster for him in the IPL as well. He faced a lot of flak for his slow strike-rate in the 2021 IPL which was suspended mid-way due to the pandemic. Yes, he's been a vital cog in the SRH line-up for the last few years but he's also been on the chopping block when things haven't gone right. Yes, he's bounced back hard after a lean patch but the inconsistencies and the strike rate have been a concern. In the five matches in the 2021 IPL, his strike rate stood at 123.71, in 2020 it was 127.62, in 2019 it was 130.79 and in 2018 it was 115.44. Overall, his IPL strike rate stands at 121.78, T20 strike rate at 124.89 and T20I SR at 126.15.
The game has changed and so has the approach. The middle overs batting has become crucial in T20s. There is a need for urgency and aggression. A strike rate in the mid 120s won't help Pandey's cause. He might need to re-invent and re-calibrate his batting according to the changing demands of the game. He will need to adapt and up his strike-rate. He has the talent, temperament and the shots in his armoury. He also adds another dimension with his fielding and is probably the second-best fielder in the Indian team right now, after Jadeja. It's the mindset and the approach he might need to adjust.
The Karnataka batsman hasn't played an international match since December 2020 when he suffered a tennis elbow after the Canberra T20I which ruled him out of the rest two Australia T20Is. He's not been a part of six ODIs and seven T20Is (two because of injury in Australia) that India have played in the last 16 months. The ODI series against Sri Lanka becomes crucial for his career now. He might get a chance to bat in the middle order and maybe at No 4 in the batting line-up with the first-team members not available. He will play that senior batter role in that middle order (if Hardik doesn't bat in the top 6) and be a guide for the youngsters and newcomers in that middle order.
There will be pressure and expectations.
"This is going to be a tough one again for Manish Pandey like Kuldeep Yadav," Manjrekar said. "He'll have to really play so well that some of the guys who seem to be certainties for the T20 WC team get some kind of competition from people like Manish Pandey and Kuldeep. So (it's an) important tour for him. And you would think this is the tour where he really has to do something sensational to be part of Indian cricket's plans."
A strong showing in the ODI series could become a push to his start-stop career and stay in the reckoning. And might also push his case for inclusion in the T20I series which seems more difficult to get into with the plethora of options at India's disposal. He may need to have a 'more than good' IPL when it resumes, to press his case for T20 World Cup selection.
The Karnataka batsman can draw confidence from his past performances in Sri Lanka where he has scored 86 runs (a 50 not out and 36) in ODIs and averaged 92.50 in T20Is with 185 runs from five innings. And the fact that he will be back with Rahul Dravid, his idol, with whom he's shared the dressing room on numerous occasions as a player (in the IPL) and protege in the India A dressing room.
At 31, time and chances are at a premium for Pandey. It doesn't take long to go off the selectors' radar, ask Ambati Rayudu or Dinesh Karthik. Pandey has experienced it himself and bounced back strongly from tough situations in the past. He has been the big-game player. The pressure-man of various teams he's played for. He's been presented with another pressure situation in his career and he will need to ace this one as well to keep himself afloat amid the storm.
