Manish Pandey started his Indian Premier League (IPL) with Mumbai Indians in 2008 but in 2009 he was picked by Royal Challenger Bangalore (Bengaluru). In the 2009 IPL, he became the first Indian batter to score a century in IPL against Deccan Chargers. Later in 2011, Manish Pandey was signed by Pune Warriors India. In 2014 during the auction Kolkata Knight Riders picked him up. Till 2017 he was a part of Kolkata Knight Riders. In 2014 he was part of the KKR team which won the IPL. During that season he scored 401 runs and was a key member of the team.
In 2018 Sunrises Hyderabad showed interest in him during the IPL auction. But again in 2024 during the mini auction, he was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs. 4.6 crore. However, during the IPL 2024, he got only one chance to represent KKR and scored only 42 runs.
1. Squad strength:
IPL 2024 was won by Kolkata Knight Riders under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy. Kolkata Knight Riders lifted their third trophy by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the finals at Chennai. The final was a one-sided match as KKR took control of the game. During the IPL 2024, the most balanced team was of Kolkata Knight Riders as they had perfect top order, middle order, and lower order and they didn’t make many changes. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction KKR will aim to keep their core squad and will release some players.
2. KKR has a balanced middle order:
The squad that won the IPL 2024 had a middle order of Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Andre Russell. Due to proper middle-order, Manish Pandey didn’t get much chance to prove his worth last season.
3. Other options:
By the time IPL 2025 happens, Manish Pandey will be 35 years of age and Kolkata Knight Rider will go for a young and attack middle-order batter in IPl auction. Due to his age, KKR will look at many other talented players coming in the auction and will pay for them.
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