Mumbai: Team India called up Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey as cover for the injured Yuvraj Singh ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 semifinal against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday.
According to a report in Wisden India, the 26-year-old will make cut if Yuvraj – who twisted his ankle while taking a single during the match against Australia – is ruled out.
Pandey scored a hundred (104 not out) in his last appearance for India (against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground in an ODI on January 23) but has not featured in any international matches since then. India had won that match by six wickets.
The right-hander arrived here on Monday evening.
(Photo: AP)
On the other hand, Yuvraj is awaiting the results of his MRI scan.
Apart from Pandey, there is Ajinkya Rahane on bench who could get his chance too.
It remains to be seen if Yuvraj is fit before the match for skipper MS Dhoni doesn’t like tinkering with the winning combination.
Pandey has been a driving force for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL and could be handy in the T20 format. In IPL, he has one hundred and five half-centuries to his credit.
He helped KKR win the title for the second time in 2014. Pandey was the first Indian to score a century in IPL (representing Royal Challengers Bangalore against Deccan Chargers) in 2009. He smashed an unbeaten 114 off 73 balls.
Unfortunately, he didn't get enough chances to don the blue jersey in the shortest format of the sport. He featured in only a couple of T20 international matches against Zimbabwe.
