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Manish Pandey deserved a place in India’s squads for ICC World T20 2016 and Asia Cup 2016

Manish Pandey was ignored for the squads for the ICC World T20 2016 as well Asia Cup 2016.

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Manish Pandey © Getty Images
Manish Pandey scored a terrific century in his last innings for India © Getty Images

India announced their squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2016 as well as the ICC World T20 2016 on Friday. The nation is on the verge of entering a cricket-mad phase that will stretch from the last week of February all the way to May till the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL). BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur announced the same squad for the two events, with the likes of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya finding their way into the squad ahead of the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, and Amit Mishra. However, one of the most talked-about points following the unveiling of the two squads is that of Manish Pandey getting ignored, especially after he had shown so much promise during the recent tour of Australia.

The tour of Australia had been a memorable one for the ‘Men in Blue’ for several reasons. Not only did they achieve the unique feat of becoming the first side to whitewash Australia in their own backyard in a three-match series of any format, but they also discovered gems such as Jasprit Bumrah and Manish Pandey. Bumrah emerged as a potential hope for India to get a death bowler of some class.

Pandey, on the other hand, has so far shown that he can bear the burden of the middle-order and prove to be an ideal finisher for the side. The Karnataka batsman executed his role beautifully during India’s final one-dayer against Australia, during which he brought up his maiden ODI century in only his fourth match.

While Pandey has shown his class in First-Class cricket — in which he averages over 50 — he has also shown his prowess in the limited-overs format, especially in 20-over cricket. Who can forget the memorable match between RCB and Deccan Chargers in IPL 2009, in which he smashed a 67-ball hundred — the first IPL ton by an Indian. Then there was his 50-ball 94 that setup the victory for KKR and helped them lift the title for the second time in the tournament’s history. He had been marked out as a bright prospect for the future, although a position in the Indian middle-order for the last half-a-decade was going to be difficult due to the abundance of talent and immense competition.

It is therefore a tad unfair for Pandey to not even get considered for the squads for the upcoming series. Pandey earned a call-up into the side for the upcoming Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Sri Lanka, his accomplishments will not perhaps amount to much with the second-string squad that the islanders will be fielding in the three-match series. Pandey deserved a bigger platform to showcase his skills in the sub-continental conditions, one that would either make or break his career. Sadly, that moment will have to wait for quite some time after the third and final T20I against Sri Lanka ends at Visakhapatnam on February 14.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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