IPL 2021: Manish Pandey a liability for SRH at No. 3

When Manish Pandey smashed a hundred in his third Indian Premier League (IPL) innings back in 2008, it seemed like he'd rapidly become an international star.

Pandey was young and had all the shots in the book. His hundred - which was the first by an Indian in the IPL - immediately put him in the spotlight, where he has stayed ever since. But even 13 years down the line, the Karnataka-born batsman hasn't been able to fulfill his obvious potential.

Manish Pandey isn't in national reckoning, and has never really been a staple of the Indian side outside the T20 format. And in the IPL, which has seen so many young stars make the leap up to the international stage, he has 3,329 runs at an average of 30.26 and a strike rate of 121.94.

While these aren't poor numbers by any means, they dwarf in comparison to the stats of other Indian stars over this time frame like Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. And incredibly, Manish Pandey was never the lead Indian batsman in a team until he made his way to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for INR 11 crores in the IPL 2018 auction.

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Manish Pandey's SRH career so far in the IPL

Manish Pandey in action for SRH

Manish Pandey's SRH career got off to a nightmare start, as he managed just 284 runs at an average of 25.81 and a strike rate of 115.44. While this could've been attributed to his batting position, it was undeniable that he struggled to get going early on in his innings.

Pandey's second season was decent - 344 runs at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 130.79 - while his third was a personal best. With 425 runs in 16 innings, most of which were at No. 3, he played a big role in SRH reaching Qualifier 2.

But some stats are very concerning for SRH and Manish Pandey. Of his 10 fifties for the Orange Army in the IPL, only two have been in a winning cause. That he has remained unbeaten in six of these 10 fifties clearly indicates two things - Manish Pandey isn't a match-winner in the conventional sense of the word, and he doesn't know how to pace his innings as well as the other Indian stars in the IPL.

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What does Manish Pandey bring to the table at No. 3 for SRH?

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey played at No. 3 in IPL 2020 even when Kane Williamson was part of the side, perhaps because the Kiwi skipper's experience and class were needed to shepherd the lower-middle order. But the strategy hasn't yielded dividends for SRH.

In IPL 2020, SRH were able to go on a winning run only late in the league phase, after David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha started to fire on all cylinders at the top of the order. And when they didn't, the team struggled despite having Pandey at No. 3 and Williamson at No. 4.

Click here for the updated list of orange cap in IPL 2021.

Manish Pandey doesn't bring a lot to the side while batting at No. 3 in IPL 2021 as well, due to the presence of Williamson on the bench and a red-hot Jonny Bairstow in the playing XI. The 31-year-old has a number of technical shortcomings that make it very easy for opposition bowlers to keep him in check.

Pandey stays distinctly leg-side of the ball, resulting in bowlers often trying to cramp him for room and not allow him to free his arms. He usually doesn't have a response to this, especially if the ball's either short or full. He struggles to get under the ball when it's one of these lengths, with his horizontal bat and lack of a pronounced shuffle meaning he's never in any sort of shape to play a straight loft.

While Manish Pandey's poor technique is a reason behind his incapability to bat at No. 3, it's not the only problem. He can't find the gaps early on in his innings as well, and eventually digs himself into a hole that is almost impossible to get out of. Pandey not only puts himself under pressure but also forces his partners into playing big shots, adding to the risk for the team.

Pandey isn't well-rounded enough to bat at No. 3 for an IPL team, especially one where he's the best Indian batsman. The fact that he has had some success as a finisher both in the IPL and for the Men in Blue only adds weight to the argument that he should bat in the middle order.

SRH do have Abdul Samad and Mohammad Nabi, but they could be better served using either Bairstow or Williamson at No. 3 and playing Manish Pandey as a lower-order dasher. Yes, he doesn't have the ability to step on the gas immediately, so sending him in with around 7-8 overs to go might be the best course of action for SRH.

But at No. 3, where he batted last year and in the first game of IPL 2021, Manish Pandey is a liability.