He Has Disappointed Me The Most - Virender Sehwag Says Manish Pandey May Not Get A Chance For India Again

Former India opener Virender Sehwag was left disappointed by a couple of Indian players – Hardik Pandya and Manish Pandey, more by the latter – in the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Pandya, in his two innings, registered scores of 0 and 19, while Pandey registered scores of 26, 37, and 11 as he failed to capitalize on his starts.

Virender Sehwag points out that in none of the three innings Pandey was put under any sort of heavy pressure of the run rate, but he needed to solidify the Indian innings, which he couldn’t until any significant extent.

India made 6 changes for the third ODI, but Pandey was given a game to make his first notable contribution since his century versus Australia in 2016. But the Karnataka batsman squandered the opportunity.

“Here was an opportunity for Manish Pandey and even Hardik Pandya for that matter. Both had scored some 15-20 runs so they disappointed me more. In this three-match series, if anyone got the most benefit, it was Pandey.

“He played all three matches, and got the chance to bat, and on all the three occasions, the situation wasn’t challenging either that he had to accelerate,” Virender Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

Suryakumar and Kishan will be considered ahead of Pandey in the middle order: Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag said that Pandey may not play for India again, or will have to wait for a long time, as, in the former opener’s opinion, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have pipped over Pandey in the pecking order.

Suryakumar was awarded the Players of the Series award for his impactful knocks in all three games while Kishan blasted his maiden ODI fifty on debut in the first ODI all but sealing the chase.

Suryakumar and Kishan are clearly in favour of Pandey in T20Is, and with India not scheduled to play another ODI series till November, Pandey would be rueing his middling scores.

“So, I believe Pandey has disappointed me the most. Perhaps he may no longer get a chance in ODIs for India, and even if he does, it is going to be a long time. Since he lost the opportunity to score in these three matches, he’s fallen behind in the pecking order.

“Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have scored runs so these two will be considered ahead of him in the middle order,” the former opener further stated.

The 3-match T20I series commences Sunday in Colombo.

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