Wasn't a satisfactory IPL for me, says Manish Pandey

Out-of-favour India batsman Manish Pandey has been in ruthless form recently, scoring a total of 305 runs in the Quadrangular A series without being dismissed even once.

The tide seemed to have turned for the 28-year-old, who had a sub-standard IPL this year while playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and hasn't played any ODIs for India in 2018.

Pandey, IPL's first-ever Indian centurion, fetched a whopping Rs. 11 crore this year in the auctions, shifting base from the Kolkata Knight Riders to the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The change did not work very well, as he managed only 284 runs from 15 games at an average of 25.81.

Speaking to the media after leading India B to a win over Australia A in the finals, Pandey admitted that he moved on from a dissatisfactory IPL to focus on his game.

"The confidence, when I was playing the IPL, was never less, but I thought it was a matter of time and games because some matches don't go your way".

"It was not a very satisfactory IPL for me, but moving on I was planning for this tournament. Different format, obviously, I thought I could take a little extra time here and bat which was good for me. I was waiting and was eager to play a few games this time".

"Luckily me and the team did well".

Speaking about his form coming just in time ahead of the Asia Cup next month, Pandey, who isn't part of the four-day side that will play a series against Australia A, said that runs before Team India selection are important because they give an 'extra pump'.

"If you have runs before selection for the main team, it definitely gives you the extra pump and confidence. The way I've played, I feel good about it, and I want to continue playing the same way", he said.

Captaining the India B side helped Pandey, who admitted that the extra responsibility worked well for him.

"It is good to be the leading run-scorer in this tournament. Even last year, I was the leading run-scorer. It's always nice to be here, captaining the team. It gives me an extra sense of responsibility, to take care of the team", Pandey said.

"Batting at No.4, trying to be the backbone of the team - when that role comes in, I like to play that. In all these games, I stuck to it quite well", he added.