"Never Got A Call...": Indian Batter On Being Released By Lucknow Super Giants Ahead Of IPL 2023 Auction

Indian Premier League franchises had announced their released and retention list of players for the 16th edition of the tournament on November 15. The announcement came as a huge blow as several big names were released by the teams. Punjab Kings decided to part ways with their last edition skipper Mayank Agarwal while IPL giants Chennai Super Kings bid adieu to West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, after being associated with him for 11 years. However, India batter Manish Pandey, who got released by Lucknow Super Giants, revealed that he was not even aware about his departure from the team and got to know about the same during the day of the announcement.

"No, I never got a call. I just got to know about it on the day the list was announced. There was no real communication, but yeah that's alright. As players, you have to be ready. Because if you are not playing a lot of games, I understand from LSG's point of view that they wanted to release me and get some extra money in the kitty for some other players or whatever the plan is," Manish Pandey told Sportskeeda. 

On being asked about whether he is in touch with any other franchise, Pandey said, "I am not in touch with any of the other teams as of now. I am just looking to perform well in these games and let's see where destiny takes me."

Pandey played 29 ODIs and 39 T20Is for Team India but after the ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2021, he was dropped. Batters like Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, and Sanju Samson were taken into consideration as they proved their worth with flying colours. Pandey stated that he always wants to make a comeback to the team but he is also happy with the inclusion of Sanju Samson.

"See obviously, individually I would feel a little sad about it. But I am sure, whatever calls the Indian team was taking or whoever was playing a certain number of games, I was happy for them. Sanju was batting well, so I thought he should have now gotten games and he did," said Pandey.

"So no hard feelings there. But on a personal front, I would obviously want to play a lot more games and prove myself at the highest level. But unfortunately, that didn't happen. Maybe see how it goes from here on," he added.

In 29 ODIs, the 33-year-old batter has scored 566 runs at a strike-rate of 90.56, with one century and two half-centuries to his name. In T20Is, he has played 39 matches and scored 709 runs with three half-centuries.

Topics mentioned in this article

Lucknow Super Giants India Cricket Team Manish Pandey Sanju Samson IPL 2023 Cricket