IPL 2021: "Manish Pandey needs to be Robin to another Indian batting batsman" - Carlos Brathwaite

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have endured a torrid season and were out of contention for the IPL playoffs after nine matches played. Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav, the two senior Indians in their middle order, failed to really fire and SRH find themselves at the bottom of the table with only one win in IPL 2021.

West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite has opined that Manish Pandey is still a very good player will need to play second fiddle to another Indian batsman in his team's middle order to take the pressure off him. Brathwaite told ESPNcricinfo:

"I would want to keep Manish Pandey around. Probably buy him back for cheaper. He is still a very good player on his day. He probably needs to be Robin to another Indian-batting Batman. Maybe he hasn’t fulfilled that main Indian middle-order batsman role that he was destined to fulfill. If he can have a season like he did a few years ago, he is somebody who can win you the tournament – not on his own, but he can be a big cog in the wheel."

I don't know about Manish Pandey but it could be the end of the road for Kedar Jadhav: Deep Dasgupta

Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta has said that Manish Pandey had a hot-and-cold season this year, but can still perform well, especially if played higher up in the batting order. However, he added that Kedar Jadhav's time could well be up as he has failed to turn up for a few seasons now. Dasgupta said:

"Manish Pandey has had a hot-and-cold season. Especially when he has batted at the top of the order, he has done well. But every time he has batted below No. 4 or at 4, his numbers aren’t that great. So don’t know about Manish, but for Kedar Jadhav, it’s not just this season but the last few seasons have not been so great for him. So it could well be the end of the road for him."

Dasgupta said that Jadhav can still add value to teams, but does not justify his high price tag. He added that the emergence of young Indian batsmen who have been scoring regularly for various franchises means Jadhav faces a lot of competition. Dasgupta said:

"Kedar Jadhav, he will have it a little tougher (in the auction). He may not be bought for the amount he was bought for last time. But he is a good role player. He is someone you can bring into the team. He offers a little bit with the ball, a little bit with the bat. I’m sure franchises can find a place for him, but the challenge they face is the rise in the number of young Indian batsmen. They are putting their hands up and scoring runs for whichever franchise they are set up for."

While Kedar Jadhav has not been picked since IPL 2021 resumed last week, Manish Pandey was dropped for their match against the Rajasthan Royals.