In a major wonder in Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)’s last match of the IPL 2021, Manish Pandey, also not Kane Williamson, strolled out for the toss in Abu Dhabi.
Panday who hasn’t performed in almost half of the team’s games this season is captaining the side for the opening in his IPL career. At the toss, he told that his return was a ‘last-minute call’ helped by injuries to both Kane Williamson and vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The right-handed batter said Williamson had a niggle in his elbow while Kumar picked up a minor injury during SRH’s last game against RCB. The new captain described:
“Yeah, definitely my first game as captain for SRH. Something new to look at, many beginnings bring a brighter future. It was a last-minute call, Kane got injured. You know, slight niggle in his elbow. Bhuvi also had a small niggle in his finger in the last game. So we had to make these two changes.”
Here are the #Risers to take on Mumbai Indians in our last game of #IPL2021. Two changes to the #Risers side, as Kane and Bhuvi have niggles. Manish and Nabi replace them in the Playing XI. #SRHvMI #OrangeArmy #OrangeOrNothing #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/X206tjx7BM
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) October 8, 2021
By replacing Kane Williamson with Manish Pandey, the SRH camp one more time gave a clear hint of David Warner’s expectation with the franchise. Warner is SRH’s most prosperous batsman and the only skipper to win an IPL trophy with them.
Warner not playing even with an abroad spot possible should all but prove SRH’s outlook with views to his role in the side in IPL 2022.
Manish Pandey’s batting experience in IPL 2021
🚨 Toss Update from Abu Dhabi 🚨@mipaltan have elected to bat against @SunRisers. #VIVOIPL #SRHvMI
Follow the match 👉 https://t.co/STgnXhy0Wd pic.twitter.com/olIwIWqLmx
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 8, 2021
Manish Pandey has played 7-games for SRH this season and the 32-year-old accumulated 223 runs at an average of 37.17 and a strike rate of 114.36.
While these estimates don’t look regrettable, it was Manish Pandey’s incapacity to complete matches despite getting starts that cost him his place midway within the season. He was succeeded by younger players similar to Priyam Garg and Virat Singh.
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