Kolkata Knight Riders will start its IPL 2024 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23 at Kolkata.
Over the years, IPL has transformed the life of many cricketers. Every year, we see some players making a name for themselves and shine on the stage of the biggest domestic T20 league in the world. Last year, it was Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal who took the tournament by storm.
We are likely to see many success stories this year as well. IPL is not only the platform for youngsters but also for the out of form players to make their way back into the Indian team. Dinesh Karthik is a prime example when he performed excellently in IPL 2022 and got a place in India’s squad for T20 World Cup.
Manish Pandey, another player who has been out of national selectors’ plans recently, will be looking to make this year’s IPL his own. He was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders this year for INR 50 lakhs.
During a chat with Sportskeeda, Manish Pandey expressed his ambitions for an India comeback. He believes that one good season could get him an India recall since India is playing a lot of games recently.
“Yes, definitely. India are playing a lot of games with multiple squads. So I’m pretty sure, if you have a good IPL or a string of good performances, you can come back into the side anytime. You obviously don’t want anybody to get injured, but that’s how the doors open for any player to make a comeback. But for me, it’ll be important to play good cricket, to start with,” Pandey said.
Pandey also praised his KKR teammate Rinku Singh for his exploits last season. He lauded Rinku’s form and hopes to learn from him.
“We all saw the kind of innings that Rinku played in Ahmedabad last year. To finish the game in that manner was unbelievable. It really boosted the morale of the team and told them, ‘We can come back from any situation any time. So there will be a lot of responsibility on Rinku’s shoulders this year as well. I hope he is ready and has found a way to tackle all those situations,” Pandey added.
“Expectations are going to be high all the time from Rinku, because of the kind of cricket he’s been playing for India as well. He’s right up there, his hitting has improved, and he’s done the job for his side no matter where he goes. So it’s great to see Rinku in that kind of form and I’d love to learn from him,” he added.
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Manish Pandey has already played for KKR before. He produced a Player of the Match performance in 2014 IPL final to win KKR its second IPL title. He is also the first Indian player to score a century in the IPL.
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