INDIA TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND, 2020

With no choice left, Pandey adapts to rigours of No. 6

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Coming at the fall of the fourth wicket has meant that Pandey got to bat a combined total of only 18 deliveries in the first three games. © AFP

"I have no choice". Manish Pandey is clear of how things stand for him if he has to be a part of the current Indian T20I setup - at No. 6. That he even finds himself there is largely due to Rishabh Pant's inability to cash in on his opportunities, KL Rahul's consistent run with the bat and Shikhar Dhawan's injury. Even if one of the three events hadn't simultaneously worked out the way they did he would've mostly struggled to get the sort of regular run that he currently has received.

Having been in the mix for a few years for the No 4 role, he failed to bag it. However, his heavy run-scoring in domestic cricket has meant that he isn't ignored from the national set-up altogether. And now that he eventually finds himself getting a long run in the starting XI, it is as No 6, a place below all-rounder Shivam Dube.

"I guess I got no choice. Even you know, batting 5 or 6 doesn't really matter. The team has given me a role to bat No.6. When No.5 comes in, there is one legspinner and one left-arm spinner, so Dube can capitalize on that. I have been batting No.6 because of that reason," he says explaining the team management's logic.

Coming at the fall of the fourth wicket has meant that Pandey got to bat a combined total of only 18 deliveries in the first three games of the ongoing series in New Zealand. In the fourth match, however, with the top order falling early, he walked out in the ninth over. Not only did he face double the number of deliveries than what he had played earlier in the series, but also helped India rebuild and post a competitive 165, courtesy a half-century.

"Today I had my opportunity to bat a little early and I've been batting well, even previously," he said following the fourth T20I. "Not too much to contribute the last couple of games, but today was my opportunity and I thought if I could use it to my advantage, that'll be great for me and my side. I think I did that pretty much. Quite happy to be there in this position.

"[Batting at 6] I start thinking about percentage cricket. I have to curb down on my shots a little bit. I can't be very expressive as soon as I go in, even if the wicket is really flat. But I just have to play those twos, look to rotate the strike. I've been working on that and today I thought it came off really well. These are small things that I've to work on.

"If you want to bat 6, then you have to be pre-ready. The game is already set for you at No.6 and you just have to sometimes go and perform at the speed that the previous batsmen have set for you. But today was an opportunity because we lost a couple of wickets early. Unluckily, Washy (Washington Sundar) got out early. We could have had a partnership there. Shardul batted well and Saini gave me a little bit of a stand there. Batting was quite good today."

Even as he has remained unbeaten so far in the series, scoring 78 runs in 54 balls, batting so low down the order is not something he is accustomed to - with his domestic team, IPL franchise or India A. However, he believes he prepared himself well for the role, courtesy some help from head coach Ravi Shastri.

"Ravi bhai has definitely been helping me. He's been talking about batting at No.6. Even in the last session we had, he kept telling me about how to use the crease and manoeuvre the ball around. There's a set way bowlers are going to bowl to me. So I have to be ready. Even he speaks about visualisation, how to think about it even before batting."

Elaborating on what mindset shift he went through, Pandey said, "I have no choice. I have to be good with it. I have to start preparing my mind as a No.6 batsman because normally I bat up the order, No 3 or No 4, when I go back. Here with the competition up top, you just have to wait for your chances, exactly how it used to happen before this. There were hardly 6 or 10 balls that I would play before.

"Today was the opportunity and I've been preparing myself as to how to bat No.6 and what kind of shots I can play, what kind of bowlers, and how many overs are left. You got to start preparing when you're sitting outside. You need to calculate.

"It's not an easy position to bat at No.6, where you know you're the last main batsman and you have to play with the bowlers if anything happens up top. That's what happened today. I was pretty clear about my role. I thought I'll probably be there on the crease by the end of the 20th over and I thought I did that pretty well, and I'm happy with that.

Even as batting at No. 6 is a role defined for him by the national team management, and that is what it is likely to be going ahead to the World T20, if he is persisted with for longer, it is not something that not a position he is aiming to bat in with Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming season of IPL.

"I would still bat No.3 when I go back to the IPL. It gives me more of an opportunity and more chance to spend time on the wicket. It gives me little more extra time when I bat, with the way I bat. Competition here is too tough and I've got to make my place, have to squeeze in. So even if they give me No.6, I'm happy to take it."

© Cricbuzz

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