'It was a harsh call in my opinion' - David Warner shares his thoughts on the axing of Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has not featured in the last 2 IPL matches that the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side has played. In the 3 innings that Pandey has played this tournament, he has scored 101 runs and has scored them at an average of 50.50.

But then, it was his slow approach and his inability to up the ante that hogged the limelight. A few former Indian cricketers also criticized Pandey for his slow knocks. In fact, even though Pandey scored 61* and 38 in the first 2 innings that he batted, the Hyderabad side could not cross the line. Pandey was dropped from the Hyderabad side after the encounter between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI).

And now, SRH skipper David Warner has opined on Manish Pandey. Warner stated that it was a harsh call to drop Pandey. He further added that the decision was taken by the selectors. Warner also backed Virat Singh, the man who replaced Pandey in the side. Stating that the pitch in Chennai was sticky, the SRH skipper added that it is difficult to bat in Chennai.

“It was a harsh call in my opinion. But at the end of the day, it is a decision of the selectors to do that. You can’t discredit Virat. He’s a very good player and on this surface, not getting too much time out there, it’s very difficult. They [the Capitals bowlers] bowled fantastic through the middle and made it challenging for us,” said Warner during the post-match presentation ceremony.

Delhi Capitals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in a thriller

On 25th April 2021, the Delhi Capitals (DC) side beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side in a nerve-wrenching clash. The match was tied, and the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi side won the Super Over. After wielding the willow first, the Delhi Capitals posted a total of 159/4 on the board. Prithvi Shaw was the main contributor with the bat for Delhi and scored 53 off 39 deliveries.

In reply, the ‘Orange Army’ too, ended up with the same total for the loss of 7 wickets. Kane Williamson held the SRH innings together and scored a valuable 66* off 51 deliveries. And in the end, both the teams ended up with the same score.

But in the Super Over, it was the Delhi Capitals who emerged triumphant. After the Hyderabad side scored 7 runs in the Super Over, the Delhi Capitals chased it down off the final delivery to post their 4th victory in the tournament.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side will next take on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) side on 28th April 2021.