The Indian cricket team resumed international cricket after a sabbatical of nearly 10 months as Virat Kohli and his men took on Australia in the first ODI of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday.
As Team India announced its playing XI, it was Mayank Agarwal who got the nod in the opening department, while Hardik Pandya secured his place in the team as a finisher. The decision did amuse a few including cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar.
Manjrekar didn’t hesitate to express his opinion and reckoned that Manish Pandey would’ve been a better choice in the No. 6 role considering Hardik isn’t bowling at the moment. On the eve of the first ODI, Manjrekar had also included Pandey in his playing XI for the encounter.
1st ODI. India XI: S Dhawan, M Agarwal, V Kohli, S Iyer, KL Rahul, H Pandya, R Jadeja, M Shami, Y Chahal, N Saini, J Bumrah https://t.co/zxxXPOXXy2 #AusvInd
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 27, 2020
“Hardik as pure batsman in 50 overs cricket? Untested. I would go for the tried & tested material of Manish Pandey. Hardik as pure batsman in 50 overs? Not sure. Hope he proves himself. If he can bowl even 5 overs sure I would pick him,” Manjrekar said in a series on tweets.
Manjrekar didn’t quite find the logic behind playing Hardik over Pandey as a ‘pure batsman’. THe cricketer-turned-commentator also opined that he would’ve picked Kuldeep Yadav in the team ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, considering the chinaman bowler is likely to benefit from the bounce that the pitches offer Down Under.