If You Can't Give Manish Pandey A Game, Why Have Him In The 15: Ex-India Pacer Slams Indian Team-Management

With the ongoing three-match ODI series between India and Australia already decided, Manish Pandey was expected to play the third game. The right-handed warmed the bench for the first two ODIs as India lost both the games to concede the series.

The Men in Blue lost both the games while chasing. They lost the series-opener by 66 runs while chasing 375 before losing the do-or-die second game by 51 runs while chasing an improbable 390. With the series lost, India were expected to make a spate of changes to their playing eleven for the dead rubber.

And as expected, India did make as many as four changes to their playing eleven for the third game. However, Manish Pandey did not get a chance in the playing eleven. Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur got the chance in the playing eleven for the final game of the series.

Dodda Ganesh lashes out at Team India’s treatment of Manish Pandey:

With Team India surprisingly not giving Manish Pandey a chance in the playing eleven for the dead rubber, former India pacer Dodda Ganesh has slammed them. The former cricketer took to Twitter to sarcastically say Manish Pandey would end his career with the record of warming the benches for most number of matches.

Ganesh further questioned the team-management’s handling of the batsman and also pointed out the lack of games for him in the last couple of years.

“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,” wrote Dodda Ganesh.

“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.

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 #DoddaMathu #AUSvIND

— ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ | Dodda Ganesh (@doddaganesha) December 2, 2020

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

Team India’s handling of Manish Pandey has been really baffling. Earlier this year, he played his first ODI in two years and went on to play two more. But despite three of the six ODIs India played this year before coming to Australia, Manish Pandey did not get a single game Down Under. At 31, he is not getting any younger and time is running out for him to prove himself in international cricket.

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