Manish Pandey excluded from Karnataka’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad

Karnataka State Cricket Association recently came forward and announced their squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. One of the biggest news that came with the squad announcement is the exclusion of Manish Pandey from their squad for the tournament. 

According to the higher-ups and KSCA selection committee chair J Abhiram, the board seems to have moved on from the number of senior players in their squad, with Manish Pandey being one of the few as well. Furthermore, the board believes that the chances of Pandey’s comeback to the squad are tough, and exclusion was purely based on form. 

It is worth noting that Manish Pandey amassed 117 runs in five innings as Karnataka failed to make the SMAT knockouts. "We as an association have realised that we need to move on from the players of old and bring in new blood. We cannot live in past glory,” Abhiram was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Also Read: Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25: Sanju Samson excluded from Kerala squad after not attending camp

It is also interesting to note that Manish Pandey was Karnataka’s vice captain in the first half of the Ranji Trophy, and the KSCA even stated that Pandey won't be considered for the back end of the tournament as well.

For the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, Mayank Agarwal will lead Karnataka for the tournament with Shreyas Gopal as his deputy. Furthermore, the likes of S Nikin Jose, KV Aneesh, R Smaran, and KL Shrijith are also a part of the squad.

Karnataka squad: Mayank Agarwal (capt), Shreyas Gopal (vice-capt), S Nikin Jose, KV Aneesh, R Smaran, KL Shrijith, Abhinav Manohar, Hardik Raj, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Vasuki Koushik, Vidyadhar Patil, Kishan Bedare, Abhilash Shetty, Manoj Bhandage, Pravin Dubey, Luvnith Sisodia

Karnataka Schedule for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25