Sanjay Manjrekar wants this Indian youngster to play all matches of Nidahas Trophy

Team India is all set to kick start their campaign in the Nidahas Trophy 2018. The Men in Blue will be taking on the hosts, Sri Lanka, in the first match of the series. With the senior players resting, the tournament serves as an ideal ground for youngsters like Rishabh Pant and Mohammad Siraj to step up. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar recently stressed on the very same fact in his column for TOI.

Sanjay Manjrekar was very critical about the approach the Indian management shows towards Rishabh Pant in the series. He noted that it is not a good sign to look back at veteran players every time one talks about replacing MS Dhoni or Wriddhiman Saha. The management should keep the future in their mind, and hence, let Pant play in all the matches on the tour this time around.

“That we keep going back to Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel every time we have to look beyond Saha and Dhoni is not a good sign. There seems to be a dearth of exciting quality ‘keeper-batsmen in Indian cricket today. Best they give Rishabh Pant the whole of the Nidahas tournament to show that he can be that ‘hard to find’ talent,” Sanjay Manjrekar quoted.

On Manish Pandey’s inconsistency

Furthermore, Sanjay Manjrekar was not happy with the way Manish Pandey has been utilizing his opportunities. Pandey has been with the Indian squad for quite some time now. However, he has been largely inconsistent. Manjrekar feels that with KL Rahul in the squad, even Pandey will be under constant pressure to perform.

“Manish Pandey clearly has the talent but I don’t quite like his inconsistency. After that brilliant 79 not out recently in the second T20 in South Africa, he failed in the very next game, which is understandable but he had done the same earlier in his career too,” noted Manjrekar.

“A spate of failures after his first century in one-day Internationals in Australia in January 2016. He cannot seem to be able to carry his form through. Having KL Rahul in the squad can ensure that Pandey remains on his toes all the time,” he noted further.

On the middle-order concerns

Speaking further on the same note, Sanjay Manjrekar noted that it is indeed the middle order that remains a point of concern for the Indian team. The team needs to find players who could provided the stability that MS Dhoni provides at the moment. He hopes that Suresh Raina continues to excel in his role in the opportunities that come his way in the upcoming assignments.

“It’s the middle-order batting and finding the next generation ‘keeper-batsman after Dhoni, the areas that need to be addressed. Raina has made a promising comeback but to be sure that he is our safe option in the middle, he must continue his form. On comebacks, expectations are greater, because there are sceptics too who you need to win over,” Manjrekar conceded.

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