Karnataka’s Manish Pandey, who was picked for the Indian Twenty20 team, said that his entry into the National squad was a ‘dream-come-true.’
“It is a great feeling, I got to know in the afternoon and it has always been my dream to play for India and this is what I have been waiting for,” he said and added: “Having done well in the past one year or so, I knew I was in the mix. Yes, I did expect a call.”
Incidentally, Pandey was the first Indian century-maker in the Indian Premier League (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Deccan Chargers at South Africa in 2009).
Summing up his career so far, the 25-year-old batsman said: “The journey so far has been slow and steady and I think with this (selection), it can only get better from here.”
Not an easy pathHe admitted that it wasn’t an easy path. “There were a few times when I felt I wasn't getting my due after good performances in the domestic cricket. But I didn’t allow the disappointment to get the better of me. I was in the probables for WorldT20, so I knew I was there and thereabouts. I just continued to work on game with a hope of making a breakthrough.”
Now donning the Kolkata Knight Riders colours in the IPL, Pandey felt that his current T20 team has also helped him enormously to pitch his case for higher honours.
“Surely the faith KKR has shown in me has helped me a lot as a Twenty20 player. The support within the team has been fantastic and has helped me play better and all this has helped me,” Pandey said.
And as for his approach, he declared: “I have got this chance because I have done well in IPL and Champions League, but my aim is to play all forms of cricket.
“I am going to play in the same way I have been — go for my shots. This is how I have got my runs in any format and that's how I am going to approach it.”
