Manish Pandey not playing: The Indian batsman missed the first match of this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Karnataka.
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A comprehensive 43-run victory against J&K means that Karnataka have commenced their title defense in the 12th season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the best possible manner.
After being put in to bat first by visiting captain Parvez Rasool, Karnataka scored 150/5 in 20 overs as debutant wicket-keeper batsman Krishnan Shrijith top-scored with 48* (31).
A disciplined bowling performance comprising of tried and tested names such as Prasidh Krishna (3), Krishnappa Gowtham (2), Jagadeesha Suchith (2) and Abhimanyu Mithun (2) being among the wickets bundled out the opposition for 107 in 18.4 overs.
Happy to get 2021 off to a successful start. Looking forward to a great year for the Karnataka team. #SyedMushtaqAliTrophy #SMAT2021
— Karun Nair (@karun126) January 10, 2021
Why is Manish Pandey not playing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021?
India batsman Manish Pandey, who has been leading Karnataka to title victories for the last two seasons, is unfortunately not part of their squad for the ongoing season.
Pandey, who played a solitary T20I during the tour of Australia last month, had been ruled out of this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy due to tennis elbow.
Apart from a captain, Karnataka will also miss a stellar batsman in Pandey who has scored 1,450 T20 runs for them at an average and strike rate of 31.52 and 130.98 respectively which also includes two centuries and seven half-centuries.
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In addition to Pandey, Karnataka are also without the likes of wicket-keeper batsman Lokesh Rahul (wrist injury) and batsman Mayank Agarwal (national duty) for this season.
In such a scenario, batsman Karun Nair is leading the side and is highly likely to be banking upon the likes of senior players namely Gotham, Ronit More and Mithun. Nair, who had opened for Karnataka on only five occasions in the past, led from the front to face the new ball alongside Devdutt Padikkal today.
