Fit-again Manish Pandey raring to go

Dambulla: With the Indian team management having already announced that K.L. Rahul will bat at no.4 in the upcoming five-ODI series against Sri Lanka, middle-order batsman Manish Pandey says he is ready to wait for his chance.

“That’s where I bat, the middle-order,” said Pandey, referring to the no.4 spot. “That’s somewhere I have been batting for a long time. But if the team thinks somebody else can do that role really well...K.L. has been batting really well in the Tests, I would love to see that happen.

“Whatever the management decides on the batting order, we abide by that, he added.

Pandey has had a roller-coaster ride so far in international cricket. He has been in contention for a while now and even scored a maiden ODI hundred against Australia in Sydney in January 2016. But a poor outing against New Zealand at home in October last year saw him being dropped from the playing XI.

“The game I played in Australia, I batted no.4. That’s where I normally bat, and that’s where I know how many overs I have to play. That’s where I have batted my entire career.

“Batting at no.5 or no.6 was a bit new for me during the New Zealand series, and I think it took me sometime to get used to that situation with only 15-odd overs left in the game. You can’t settle in from that position,” said Pandey.

“You just need to go out and go at everything from ball one. I think I have adapted to that situation well. Let’s see how it goes.”

The 27-year-old has been part of the selectors’ plans throughout and was even named in the original 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy in England. Unfortunately, he got injured and missed the bus.

“Talking about the injury, I think that was a really sad. Nevertheless, my physios gave me a six-week rest and I am just happy to come back and play the India A series. To win that series was really important for me.”