Seasoned batter Manish Pandey is determined to reclaim his spot in the Indian cricket team. He'll be showcasing his batting prowess for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after rejoining the franchise for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
The Knights secured Pandey at his base price during IPL auction at his base price of Rs 50 lakhs. Pandey's international career began in 2015 on the Zimbabwe tour, but solidifying his place in the national team has proven challenging. The 34-year-old last played for India in Sri Lanka during 2021. Pandey believes a stellar performance with the bat for KKR could be the key to returning to the national team with T20 World Cup 2024 around the corner.
Manish Pandey hopeful of India comeback
“Yes, definitely. India are 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,” Pandey told Sportskeeda.
“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,” the star batter further said.
Last season, the two-time IPL champions didn't make it to the playoffs, with Nitish Rana stepping up as leader due to Shreyas Iyer's injury. This time around, Iyer is returning to captain the team in IPL 2024. Importantly, KKR has appointed Gautam Gambhir, a former captain, as the team's mentor.
Pandey expressed joy upon reuniting with Gambhir. Previously, Pandey had played under Gambhir's leadership before making a switch. Now, while Pandey is back in the team as a player, Gambhir has returned in the role of a mentor.
“He is somebody who always wants his players to do well. That’s what I’ve learnt from GG. He’s been very passionate about the game and his energy on the field is unmatched. And that’s what we learn as players, when your captain or leader is leaving everything on the field. I’ve made sure I try to replicate that in every game I play,” Pandey concluded.
KKR open their IPL 2024 campaign at home on March 23 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens.
Coming off a playoff-less season under Nitish Rana's leadership due to Shreyas Iyer's injury, KKR enters IPL 2024 with their star captain back at the helm.
KKR Team's IPL 2024 Full Squad
Wicketkeepers | Batters | All-rounders | Bowlers |
KS Bharat | Shreyas Iyer (c) | Andre Russell (WI) | Varun Chakravarthy |
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG) | Phil Salt (ENG) | Nitish Rana | Sunil Narine (WI) |
Rinku Singh | Venkatesh Iyer | Vaibhav Arora | |
Angkrish Raghuvanshi | Anukul Roy | Chetan Sakariya | |
Sherfane Rutherford (WI) | Ramandeep Singh | Harshit Rana | |
Manish Pandey | Suyash Sharma | ||
Mitchell Starc (AUS) | |||
Dushmantha Chameera (SL) | |||
Sakib Hussain | |||
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (AFG) |
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Former 2-time PCB chairman dies at age 89 in Lahore; Pakistan Cricket Board releases statement
ICC bans Sunrisers Hyderabad and SL superstar ahead of IPL 2024 a day after revoking his retirement