5 Indian players who should be groomed for the 2019 World Cup

#4 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has already proved he has what it takes to succeed on the international stage

Manish Pandey’s injury at the last moment going into the Champions Trophy came as a big blow to the team management which goes to show how much the team has come to depend on a player who has only played 12 ODIs.

But Pandey could have well been slotted in if he was in the squad, either in the place of Kedar Jadhav or Yuvraj Singh. His unbeaten 104 in an ODI against Australia last year showed what he was capable of doing – properly playing the finisher’s role and winning matches on his own.

The role is not alien to Pandey who has been a mainstay of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ middle order for a few seasons now and plays a vital role for the team. If he performs as per his ability, the mantle of playing the role of the finisher will rest upon the duo of Manish Pandey and Hardik Pandya.