Colombo: Although India won the 3-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, the loss in the third ODI will feel bitter for team India and coach Rahul Dravid. Except for some promising top-0rder performances, India's middle-order batting was a cause of concern. Although the series wasn't played by the first-string team, it still was an opportunity for many youngsters to shine and make their way through in the main team. Sadly, Manish Pandey missed that bus as he failed thrice even after getting good platforms to score runs. Pandey scored 26, 37 and 11 runs in the three ODIs and failed to make any impact.
Virender Sehwag feels that this series might mark the end of Manish Pandey's ODI career. His series of 'disappointing' performances might lead him out of India's one-day team. Manish Pandey made his debut in 2015 and scored runs with an ordinary average of 33 runs in 39 matches. India's explosive ex-opener Virender Sehwag said that Pandey disappointed him "the most".
"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 the three occasions, the situation wasn't challenging either that he had to accelerate," Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
Sehwag feels Suryakumar Yadav and K]Ishan Kishan would be preferred ahead of Pandey as they had a run of decent performances in the three ODIs.
"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."