MS Dhoni backs talented young players: Ishwar Pandey picks the best skipper between Smith and Dhoni- Exclusive interview with Kheltalk.com

Ishwar Pandey is one of the cricketers who witnessed fast growth right after his debut in the state team. He got into the Madhya Pradesh state team when he was around 20 and then became the leader of their pace attack just in his third season.

After finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the 2012/13 Ranji Trophy season, he got a call-up from India A, and then he was picked for India’s Test series against New Zealand and England. However, he ended up warming the bench and never really got picked for the national team again. Pandey continued to play for India A where he once ended as the leading wicket-taker in the unofficial Test series against South Africa A.

On the other hand, his impressive run helped him to get an IPL contract. At first, he made it to the Pune Warriors team where he got to play a couple of matches, but his best stint in the IPL came with the Chennai Super Kings. The tall lanky pacer was bought for Rs 1.5 Crores in the auction by the Men in Yellow. Later, he became a mainstay in the team and played in almost all the matches during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

In 2016, the year where the CSK team got suspended, witnessed Ishwar Pandey move to the Rising Pune Supergiants. Though he was a part of the squad for the following two seasons, he didn’t get an opportunity to feature in a single match.

After that season, he didn’t make it to the IPL again. Pandey, who has been a part of teams led by MS Dhoni and Steve Smith, was asked about the better captain between these two in a telephonic interview with Kheltalk.com editor Jasvinder Singh.

Pandey was quick enough to say that it was MS Dhoni. The MP pacer added that the former Indian captain is the best skipper he had played under and Dhoni had always given an opportunity to the talented players.

“Of course, MS Dhoni is by far the best skipper I have played under. He knows which player will do better looking forward to the playing conditions. I would also say that MS Dhoni always gives chances to the talented players and he gives lots of support to the players irrespective of external pressure,” he said.

Overall, Ishwar Pandey has 18 wickets from his 25 matches with an economy rate of 7.68. The 32-year-old continues to feature for his state team Madhya Pradesh and has 68 wickets from 69 T20 innings with an economy rate of 7.07.