Need to fix a spot for myself: Manish
COLOMBO: India batsman Manish Pandey believes players will take time to get used to new positions and roles after skipper Virat Kohli declared experiments would be the norm heading into the 2019 World Cup.
Pandey ended a 10-month wait to play again for India with an unbeaten 50 batting at No 6, sharing a 101-run partnership with MS Dhoni.
Pandey, 27, had earlier in the series spoken how tough it was for him to get used to the slot after batting at No 4 earlier. On Thursday, he admitted his Karnataka teammate KL Rahul, a big hit as an opener, was finding it tough to get used to his new role as middle-order batsman.
“It is on him to come out of this situation again, he has to understand maybe how the middle overs go because he always opens the batting and suddenly you are batting after 30 overs.
“You need some time. Maybe as many more matches guys play, he will get used to it. Even I was feeling difficult batting at No 6; batting used to come after 40 overs and I was used to batting at No 4 when batting comes after 25 overs.
“So it always takes time. And the faster you learn the better batsman you become. I think that’s what I have done.”
“I have to be ready for whatever spot I get. So, if I get a chance then I need to get some runs and cement that spot.
“And then if you keep performing and you keep playing better, maybe you come one up in the order. So that will be my goal -- to fix a spot or two for myself and stay there and win games for India.”