Manish Pandey says he has endured a tough time waiting for his sporadic chances, asserting that he has what it takes to be a regular pick in the star-studded middle order if given a longer rope.
Pandey, who scored 79 not out off 48 balls in the second T20 International here which South Africa won by six wickets to level the three-match series 1-1, has been at best a irregular selection even though he has made most of his chances count with fine knocks, including a hundred in his first one-dayer on Australian soil.
"Honestly, it's a little tough (waiting for chances) and it works on your mind a lot. Especially on this tour, I have felt it a lot actually but that is what cricket is all about. You have to wait for your chances to play for a team like India where you have so many stars and legend after legend (in the team). So I am trying my bit there," he said after the match on Wednesday night.
"I have got a few chances at number four and I have delivered. So the batting combination some times pushed me down to number five. I have tried my bit (at number five), but I also feel that I could probably do a little bit more with myself," he said.
Pandey believes a consistent run could help his cause. "...India has a really good top-order line-up and they bat out nearly 30-35 overs in ODIs with guys like Virat (Kohli) and then MS Dhoni comes ahead of me (at times). So yeah, with some more chances, I feel I can deliver a lot more than what I am doing right now."
Pandey sat out the entire ODI series and didn't come into the side even when Kedar Jadhav was injured with Shreyas Iyer preferred in his place. Pandey, who had scored the first IPL hundred by an Indian batsman at Centurion back in 2009, said it is tough following in the footsteps of the likes of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh who have batted before at number five for India.
"I was waiting to play here. Even in the ODIs, I was trying to squeeze my chances in but that didn't happen. But in the T20s, it has been good and Centurion has always been good to me. I still remember the hundred I got here about 9-10 years ago, so it is good to always bat here.
"As I said, it is tough playing for India at number five. The people who have batted at this spot before me, like Raina and Yuvi, well, it is also tough to fill in their shoes. Over the last couple of years, Indian batting has also been doing very well. So you have to be very patient for your chances," he added.
Pandey admitted he was a bit slow in his first outing on this tour at the Wanderers, where he scored 29 not out off 27 balls. In this second game though, Pandey did it very well as he put on 98 off 56 balls with MS Dhoni. "From ball one, you have to go for it. That's what I tried to do in the first game but I played a little slow. It happens coming back after a long time and staying here. It was in my mind a little bit but today was a good day for me. I want to continue playing the way I have always played. That's how I have to keep squeezing my chances in there," he said.
