There is competition, but I want to focus on what I do best, reveals Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey has set his eyes on a spot in the middle-order of the Indian cricket team and admits that there is competition but he just wants to focus on his own strengths ahead of next year’s ICC World Cup. Pandey also admitted that batting in the lower order made him struggle in this year’s IPL.
The Indian cricket team endured a narrow loss in the ODI series against England last year as they lost in the third and final ODI to end the series 2-1. Manish Pandey was not considered for the series against the three lions after having played a part role in the historic ODI series win against South Africa earlier this year.
However, after having starred for the India B team in the ongoing quadrangular series that involved Australia A, South Africa A and India A teams, the Bangalore-born batsman has set his eyes on a permanent spot in the senior cricket team. Pandey put in a stunning performance in the final of the series as he brought up his seventh A-List century in Bangalore.
"Personally, I just think about batting. I'm looking at the middle order at the moment, trying to seal that position. This series was a proving ground to get some runs and get looked at for the Asia Cup. I want to enjoy myself, there is competition, but I want to focus on what I do best.
"I wasn't feeling good, so I took a three-week break after the UK tour. I wanted to switch off, took time off the game, and then used the time to focus on a couple of niggles and get myself mentally fresh. That seems to have helped," Pandey said after yesterday’s game.
On Monday, the SRH batsman picked up 56 singles and hit seven fours and three sixes. There were only two occasions when he faced more than three dot balls in a row. Two of his sixes sailed over deep midwicket, but the one that stood out was an inside-out hit over extra-cover off Mitchell Swepson, the Australian legspinner. He brought up his century off just 97 deliveries and then carried on to finish unbeaten on 117.
However, the young lad admitted that this year’s IPL was a failure for him after he switched sides from Kolkata Knight Riders to Sunrisers Hyderabad. But he attributed that to a change in his spot in the batting line-up which was much lower in the SRH team as compared to when he played for KKR.
"I think it's never easy batting lower down the order with few overs remaining in T20s," he said. "But you have to be ready for the chances because you wait for so long. The more games I play in that situation, it will help me prepare for tough situations. There are always learnings you try and take out of such situations. That's what I also did.
"In the IPL, I struggled, yes. I wasn't reacting to situations like I normally do, maybe that's also because I was batting lower down. At KKR, I had a set role in the top three. Batting elsewhere made it tougher for me, but I can't offer excuses. I have to accept the reality as it is and try and work my game around these tough situations." added Pandey.
With previous unbeaten scores of 95 and 21 earlier in the tournament, this took Pandey’s tally to 233 runs without being dismissed. With India's next ODI assignment - Asia Cup - scheduled for September, Pandey couldn't have timed his sudden return to form any better.
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