Manish Pandey to be included in the Indian squad for Asia Cup 2018

The Indian selectors will soon meet to pick the squad for the Asia Cup 2018. They have quite a rich list of names available in hand, not only have the most players who featured on the England tour done well, the India A and in fact, India B players also impressed in the recent past. Among those many, Manish Pandey made a strong case for himself with the Quadrangular A team series.

He made his international debut three years ago but Pandey hasn’t managed to cement his spot in the Indian team. He wasn’t included in the ODI squad for the tour of England where they played three ODIs. Though 28-year-old was a part of the squad in the T20Is his contribution of 21 in the two T20Is against Ireland denied him a spot in the playing XI.

“Manish has impressed most with his performance in the Quadrangular series, he will be expected to bat at No.5 in the Asia Cup. He will most certainly be a part of the squad,” said a source privy of the selection decisions.

Pandey in the Quadrangular series

Pandey wasn’t included in the India A team but asked to captain India B against the other home team, Australia A and South Africa A. He scored an unbeaten 95 in the first match against the South Africans, 21* in the next against India A, he was not out 117 against the Aussies and in the big match, the final against the Australians he commanded the proceedings in the chase with another unbeaten knock of 73.

In the four matches, he wasn’t dismissed once and scored 306 runs also helping his side win the series. After the conclusion of the series, Pandey continued to work hard on his game, spending time at the National Cricket Academy further working on his fitness and skills.

Among the other possible changes is the exclusion of Dinesh Karthik. Though Karthik hasn’t done a lot wrong in the limited-overs format, he played just one ODI in England and with the 21 at Leeds he will struggle to hold on to his spot. There is a good possibility that Rishabh Pant who made his Test debut replacing the senior keeper in the third Test in England will be called-up ahead of the 33-year-old.

Mayank Agarwal is another batsman who would expect to find himself in the squad list. His name has been popping up every time a squad has been named in the last few months. Agarwal would’ve been disappointed after missing out on a spot in the Test team for the last couple of games. He didn’t let that hamper his performance and playing for India B scored a hundred against India A in the Quadrangular series and another half century in the final. The 27-year-old has a List A average of over 50 and will certainly be a part of the discussion.

Team India will play the first match in the Asia Cup on September 18 against the Qualifying team and face off with the arch-rivals Pakistan a day after on September 19.

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