"If you have a..." - Manish Pandey's colossal claim on India comeback ahead of IPL 2024

Manish Pandey is one of the few players who have been part of IPL since the debut season in 2008 and also part of IPL 2024. Ahead of the season, Manish Pandey said he eyes India comeback with a good show in IPL 2024.

Manish Pandey will play for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024. KKR picked the right-handed batter during the IPL 2024 mini-auction. The franchise picked him for his base price of Rs. 50 lakh.

The middle-order batter also played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 edition, when the franchise won the title. Hence, he returns to the team in IPL 2024. Pandey was part of KKR from 2014 to 2017 seasons in the past.

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Definitely aiming for India comeback: Manish Pandey

During an interview with Sportskeeda, Manish Pandey was asked whether he eyes an India comeback with IPL 2024. He said he definitely looks up to it and with Team India playing a lot of games, he can make it into the Indian team with a good show in IPL 2024.

“Yes definitely. India is playing a lot of games with multiple squads. So I’m pretty sure, if you have a good IPL or a string of good performances, you can come back into the side anytime”.

“You obviously don’t want anybody to get injured, but that’s how the doors open for any player to make a comeback. But for me, it’ll be important to play good cricket to start with”, said Pandey, who is the first Indian player to smack a century in IPL.

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KKR to face SRH in IPL 2024 opening game at home

Meanwhile, KKR will commence their journey in IPL 2024 with the opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home. The encounter takes place on Saturday, Match 23 at Eden Gardens Stadium. Shreyas Iyer leads KKR in IPL 2024.

Last season, the two-time IPL champions failed to reach the playoffs Nitish Rana led them in the absence of injured skipper Shreyas Iyer. However, the latter is back to lead the side in IPL 2024. Notably, KKR has nominated former skipper Gautam Gambhir as the mentor of the side.

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Manish Pandey eyes good show after poor shows in the last few seasons

Manish Pandey will eye a brilliant comeback in IPL 2024 for KKR. In the last few seasons, the 34-year-old batter has struggled to score runs with the bat. He was part of Delhi Capitals last season and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2022 season. Before that, he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad from 2018 to 2021.

Playing IPL since the debut season, Pandey is a highly experienced player. He has featured in 170 IPL games. In 158 innings, the right-handed batter has smacked 3800-plus runs averaging 29.

Pandey has slammed 1 ton and 22 fifties in IPL. He has also played 29 ODIs and 39 T20Is for India. The KKR player last played for Team India in July 2021, during the ODI series against Sri Lanka.