IPL 2021, PBKS vs SRH: Why is Manish Pandey not playing today?

The Sunrisers Hyderabad made three changes to their playing XI against the Punjab Kings. Manish Pandey missed out on a spot in the match squad.

Manish is the team's second-highest run-getter in IPL 2021 at the moment, with 101 runs to his name in three innings. However, his batting strike rate of 112.22 was an area of concern.

With Kane Williamson available to play, the Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to drop Manish Pandey from their XI. His strike rate could be one reason for his exclusion, while another reason could be that the Sunrisers had to bolster their bowling a bit after leaving Mujeeb Ur Rahman out.

David Warner did not disclose the exact reason for dropping Manish Pandey, but he said at the toss that Siddarth Kaul took his place in the team.

"Kane is playing today and he comes in for Mujeeb. Samad misses out with a hamstring pull and he will be replaced by Kedar. Manish misses out as well and Siddarth Kaul replaces him," Warner replied when asked about his team's changes at the toss.

Who will bat at number 3 for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the absence of Manish Pandey?

Manish Pandey is one of the few batters to have aggregated over 100 runs in IPL 2021

Manish Pandey's absence will hurt the Sunrisers Hyderabad a lot, but they have brought Kane Williamson in the playing XI to maintain the team's balance. Williamson will likely bat at number three in Pandey's absence.

The Kiwi batsman has played 31 innings at number three in his IPL career, aggregating 1,028 runs at an average of 39.54. Williamson has recorded ten IPL fifties in this batting position.

It will be interesting to see if Williamson bats at number 3 today. You can follow the live scorecard of the match between SRH and PBKS here.