“Is this the last time we are seeing Manish Pandey playing for Team India in ODI?" This was a common sentiment shared by many disappointed cricket fans who watched the middle-overs batsman Manish Pandey fail once again in the 50-overs format, this time in the 3rd and final one-dayer against Sri Lanka on Friday. Pandey who scored 26, 37, and 11 respectively in the now-concluded series has been under the scanner for quite some time now. Speculations that the Sri Lanka tour could be his last stint in the limited-overs format were rife even before he got padded up for the series and eventually ended it with a string of starts that he failed to convert into big numbers.
Aware of Pandey’s potential, fans feared that they may be seeing what could be the last of him- especially at a time when the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson among many others are constantly fighting for the spot in the playing XI. Many others, however, weren’t so kind to him.
#SLvsINDManish Pandey to Intl. Cricket? pic.twitter.com/GMme3Lvylt— R.S.R 🏏 (@Rishiicasm) July 23, 2021
Manish Pandey in this lineup: pic.twitter.com/sEoSDbErNS— Abhiii (@knockd_and_over) July 23, 2021
Thank you Manish Pandey pic.twitter.com/UhHGNlNcuR— Shivani (@meme_ki_diwani) July 23, 2021
This series could be the end of road for Manish Pandey. #INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/EkGWQ52I7h— Sujal Kumar 🇮🇳 (@SujalKumar31) July 23, 2021
Thank you Manish Pandey pic.twitter.com/PGHBC5Ftvv— Myra (@the_indianstuff) July 23, 2021
This may be the last time we see manish pandey in odis #INDvSL #manishpandey pic.twitter.com/F8iyQ7s8u2— Madhan|kl stan acc (@networkissue_) July 23, 2021
RIP Manish Pandey's ODI career (2015-2021)#INDvSL— Shekhar (@shekhariyat) July 23, 2021
And that could be the end of Manish Pandey In ODIs.— Prithvi (@Puneite_) July 23, 2021
26(40), 37(31), 11(19) by Manish Pandey in the series, with Iyer, Pant, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav available, it won't be easy for Manish to make a comeback soon into the ODI format.— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 23, 2021
Notably, Pandey made a fine debut for India smashing 71 off 86 deliveries from number 5 against Zimbabwe in Harare in July, 2015. He produced a stunning unbeaten 104 off just 81 deliveries from number 4 in a record 331-run chase against Australia at the SCG in early 2016 - in what was just his third outing for India with the bat.
After a splendid start, Pandey’s ODI journey failed to take off and he did not produce a single match-winning performance with the bat for India for the remainder of his career.
To read more on Pandey’s ODI stats and journey (so far), here’s a quick read for you.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here