Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey credit Rahul Dravid for the rise in their game

It is a good time for all the Manish Pandey fans, as the talented cricketer was named in India’s limited overs series against Sri Lanka, starting from August 20. Pandey was earlier selected for the Champions Trophy, that took place in England this year, but an injury ruled him out of the competition. His prolific run in the tri-nation series, playing for India A earned him a place in the national side.

Pandey scored 307 runs from 4 games, and interestingly holds an average of 307, since he has been dismissed only once. However, MSK Prasad said that the management is considering KL Rahul to play in the middle order. Pandey knows the fact that the competition is stiff but he patient about his chances and willing to take it as a challenge.

“This is a comeback for me. Despite scoring a ton against Australia I didn’t get a chance in the World Cup squad. After that I got a chance in the Champions Trophy but unfortunately, I got injured and had to miss the entire tournament. I made the tri series as the key to get myself selected in the national squad and that has helped. If given a chance I would give my 100%,” said Manish while talking to Xtratime.

“Tri-series was an important test for all of us. Despite losing the first match we played well and became the champions. The advice of Rahul Dravid helped us a lot. He has been a role model for me since my childhood. He was my first captain when I started playing domestic cricket for Karnataka. Despite we have different batting styles he has been an inspiration for me always,” he added further.

Shardul reflects on the same lines

Pacer Shardul Thakur too got a national call-up and he spoke about the impact Dravid has made in his game. He also added that he is a fan of Allan Donald and learnt a lot from watching his videos.

“I have improved my bowling a lot after bowling in South Africa as the pitches there favour my style of bowling. Along with the pace I could bowl the off-cutters well. Apart from that Rahul (Rahul Dravid) sir has helped me a lot. He guided me thoroughly. As I idolize Alan Donald, he made me watch the bowling of Donald in South African soil. I learnt a lot from it and tried to instill those lessons in my bowling,” quoted Shardul.