‘Had a fantastic career’ – Veteran batter Manish Pandey dropped from Karnataka squad, KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal included

Veteran batter Manish Pandey has been axed from the Karnataka squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. The 35-year-old batter had a barren scoring run during the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. Karnataka didn’t make it past the first round, with Pandey scoring 117 runs with an average of 29.25 from five games. 

Karnataka’s selection committee chairman J. Abhiram during his chat with Sportstar said, “Manish has had a fantastic career; no doubt about it. But at some stage, you will have to make way for youngsters. We have a few exciting young batters - Prakhar Chaturvedi, Aneeshwar Gautam, K.V. Aneesh. The more opportunities they get, the better.”

Manish Pandey was part of Indian U19 side that won the 2008 World Cup. The right-handed batter became the first Indian to score a century in the IPL. After years of grind in the domestic circuit, Pandey made his India debut in 2015. His biggest moment with the bat came during the 2016 ODI in Sydney against Australia where he scored a century. 

KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal included in Karnataka squad 

Karnataka are placed in Group C for the 2024 edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy. The other notable teams in the group are Mumbai, Hyderabad, Punjab, and Saurashtra. While Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland complete the group. Karnataka will open their campaign on 21st December versus Mumbai in Ahmedabad. 

Three names who have been included in the squad are KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal, who are away in Australia. The third name is that of Prasidh Krishna, is also with the national team playing the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Veteran opener Mayank Agarwal is likely to lead the side. 

J. Abhiram happens to be the chief selector of Karnataka also revealed that Manish Pandey isn’t being considered for the rest of Ranji Trophy season. During his chat with Sportstar Mr. Abhiram said, “Pandey will not come back for the second leg of the Ranji Trophy. We have K.V. Aneesh in the reserves; he should come in. Now it is up to the youngsters to make full use of all chances.”

“I had a word with Pandey, and I explained all the reasons for this decision. We would like him to stay connected with Karnataka cricket, perhaps as a coach or in any other role. It is very hard to have this sort of tough conversation. But this is the circle of life,” further added J. Abhiram.