Team India earned a victory in the India tour of Sri Lanka three-match ODI series. Shikhar Dhawan led India won the series by 2-1. India won the first two matches of the series and eventually lost the third and final game against Sri Lanka. Throughout the three-match One-Day International series, India found many positives. However, on the other side, there was one player who disappointed everybody. The player is none other than Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Manish Pandey. Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag criticized Manish for his poor run. Also, Sehwag asserted that Manish Pandey lost the golden opportunity to seal his place in the Indian team.
Notably, Manish Pandey batted for India at number four throughout the ODI series. Adding to it he got the perfect opportunity in all the matches to score big runs and help India win the games. However, he left everybody disappointed. Manish Pandey ended the series scoring only 74 in the three matches. Pandey was under tremendous pressure because many players are fighting for the spots.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has been performing sensationally for India since making his debut. Looking at the current form it will be safe to say Suryakumar is ahead of Manish Pandey and others in the race. Surya also won the player of the series award in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. He is the top contender to fill the middle-order slot for India in ODIs.
Virender Sehwag unhappy with Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya
Sehwag opined that Manish Pandey got the best opportunity to bat in all three matches but he failed to deliver a good performance. Also, Sehwag was disappointed with the performance of all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
“Here was an opportunity for Manish Pandey and even Hardik Pandya for that matter. Both had scored some 15-20 runs so they disappointed me more. In this three-match series, if anyone got the most benefit, it was Pandey. He played all three matches and got the chance to bat, and on all three occasions, the situation wasn’t challenging either that he had to accelerate.
“So, I believe Pandey has disappointed me the most. Perhaps he may no longer get a chance in ODIs for India, and even if he does, it is going to be a long time. Since he lost the opportunity to score in these three matches, he’s fallen behind in the pecking order. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have scored runs so these two will be considered ahead of him in the middle order,” he said while speaking to Cricbuzz.
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