Twitterati lash out at the selectors for picking Manish Pandey in the T20I squad

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a plethora of squads for the upcoming England tour on Tuesday. While Virat Kohli missed the Afghanistan Test as expected and Ajinkya Rahane was tipped to lead in his absence, the teams for the limited overs leg of the UK tour saw Ambati Rayudu making a comeback in the ODI format. However, the inclusion of Manish Pandey for the T20Is against Ireland and England has not gone down well with many and the Twitterati has lashed out at the selectors for the same reason.

Pandey was also dropped from the ODI squad after his consistent failures in the recent ODI series against South Africa which India won historically. He is currently playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and has not at all impressed many with his contribution. The franchise had bagged his services for a whopping amount of Rs 11 Crores and was expected to justify the price tag attached to him.

Twitter unimpressed

Manish Pandey has played in all the matches so far in the cash-rich T20 league and has mustered only 184 runs in 9 outings at an underwhelming strike-rate of 112.19. Though he has scored a couple of half-centuries, those knocks have been a complete drag and had to face the ire of the fans as well for being too slow in the chase of 190 odd runs against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).

As far as Pandey is concerned, he would love to take up this opportunity and resurrect his career which is in doldrums currently. He was being tipped as the best number 4 batsman for India in ODIs ahead of the World Cup but he failed to impress and has now axed from the side also. It will be interesting to see the way he fares in the T20Is against Ireland and England. The first game on the UK tour is set to be played on June 27.

Here’s how Twitter reacted over his selection:

Really surprised not to see Ambati Rayudu in India's T20I squad.

I think he had a case to get in over Manish Pandey, surely?#TeamIndia #Cricket #ENGvIND

— CricBlog (@cric_blog) May 8, 2018

Manish pandey is already having a pathetic season in this year ipl and you guys selected him for t20’s are u guys serious ? @BCCI @BCCIdomestic

— Anindya (@mr_crazy_ani) May 8, 2018

Krunal Pandya or Shreyas Iyer is best replacement for Manish Pandey ….

Still many good players are avoided.
Politics!!!

Giving 10 chances for all close players to Dhoni and Virat but not giving couple of chances to really worthy players.

This is why India fails …#ENGvIND

— Rajesh (@rajesh1992r) May 8, 2018

Manish Pandey's T20 Spot is Debatable But I think It's his Last Opportunity to Prove his Talent .

— Johns ? (@CricCrazyJohns) May 8, 2018

Manish Pandey in T20s? LOL got selected in wrong format. Otherwise excellent squad ✔? https://t.co/WUxRyFZtvx

— Carlos (@tarun_0707) May 8, 2018

Manish Pandey has a lot to think, he is not doing justice to his potential he possesses. https://t.co/DmyrQOxLl6

— Surgical Sherlock (@IndieSherlock) May 8, 2018

Don't know on what basis @im_manishpandey can keep his place in this squad.

— Pratik Vala (@PratikVala2) May 8, 2018

Manish Pandey before Rayudu, Surya & Krunal in T20s is extremely stupid decision

— Pratyush (@pks_2611) May 8, 2018

Drop #ManishPandey and get #AmbariRayudu . Pandey's strike rate is not healthy for a T20I innings

— Abhinav (@whyabhinav) May 8, 2018

Manish Pandey ka konsa performance dekh kr T20 me selection kiya Mr MSK PRASAAD? atlist give to chances Rishabh Pant ya sheyas iyer #ENGvIND

— sameer sam (@8Dat55CkS9J6hPE) May 8, 2018

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