Manish Pandey, the first Indian batsman to score a century in the IPL, is one of the most trendy and unconventional batsmen on the circuit right now. Despite his lack of international experience, the Karnataka batsman has been a frequent face in the limited overs team for the past 4-5 years.
Manish Pandey made his mark on the world stage when he led the RCB side to the knockout stages with a 114-run knock off just 73 deliveries as a teenager. For the first time, the IPL was held outside of India, in the rainbow nation of South Africa, and Manish Pandey made history by being the first Indian to score a century in the lucrative league.
Records
In the IPL, he is the first Indian to score a century.
In the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy, he was the highest run-scorer.
Career
Domestic Career
After representing Mysore in state-level tournaments, Manish Pandey emerged from humble beginnings. Pandey was scouted to play for the India Under-19 team in 2008 under Virat Kohli due to his excellent performances. The team won, but Pandey stayed in the background because his excellent batting abilities were not matched by his success.
Being a member of a World Cup-winning team guaranteed Pandey an IPL deal, which he signed with the Mumbai Indians. With stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya in the squad, Manish Pandey didn’t get much of a chance, and he moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore a year back (RCB).
Since then, Pandey has been a critical cog in the Karnataka domestic system. In 2009-10, he had a breakout Ranji season, scoring 882 runs and finishing as the leading run-getter with four 100s and five 50s at an average of 63, demonstrating his durability and hunger for runs.
IPL Career
Manish Pandey was soon recruited into a star-studded Mumbai Indians side after winning the U-19 World Cup in 2008. He didn’t get much chances there, so he switched to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team, where he had a breakthrough season. During the second edition of the IPL, Pandey became the first Indian to score a century in the rainbow country of South Africa.
He was retained by the franchise for the third season of the IPL, but was cut the next season after failing to provide any noteworthy results.
Manish Pandey was then signed in the auctions by the now-defunct Pune Warriors India, but the weak franchise did not help Pandey’s fortunes, as he spent three quiet years in the camp.
When Pandey was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, he was granted a new lease on life. The Karnataka batsman has always had a knack for scoring big on big stages, and he delivered a tournament-winning effort for KKR in the finals, scoring a magnificent 94-run inning that overshadowed Wriddhiman Saha’s century and propelled KKR to their second IPL title.
However, he fell out of favour again, and KKR released him. Pandey was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad shortly after his dismissal and has been doing admirably for the team ever since.
International Career
Pandey made his international debut in Harare in July 2015, six years after his smash-mouth IPL century in Centurion. He made the most of his chance, hitting 71 runs in his first innings. But it was his century against Australia in Sydney in 2016 that won him the most praise.
India was trailing 331 runs when Manish Pandey came in and pitched a breezy unbeaten 104-run inning, taking the team to victory. His performance garnered a lot of attention, and he was called India’s response to the number 4 conundrum.
Pandey made his T20I debut on the same tour after making his ODI debut in Zimbabwe. In the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, he was chosen to replace Yuvraj Singh. Pandey played in the semi-final but did not bat because MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli put up a display against West Indies, scoring 191 runs. Still, thanks to Andre Russell’s heroics, India had to leave the tournament empty-handed, and Pandey was denied the opportunity to wear the blue jersey for India in an ICC tournament.
Family
Manish Pandey was born in Nainital, Uttarakhand, to G.S Pandey and Tara Pandey in 1989. Pandey’s father was an army general, and if he hadn’t excelled in the IPL by touching a century, he was set to enter the army. On December 2, 2019, Pandey married actress Ashrita Shetty in Mumbai.