Ishwar Pandey, the Madhya Pradesh fast bowler who played for Rising Pune Supergiant and CSK in the IPL and won the Champions League with CSK in 2014, reckons that he might have had a successful international career as well if the former Indian captain MS Dhoni had given him an opportunity to play for India when he was at the peak of his career.
Ishwar Pandey was actually a part of the Indian test squad for the tours of England and New Zealand in 2014 and since he was a swing bowler who could move the ball in the air and off the surface in the English and the New Zealand conditions, he could have been a useful option for India if he was picked in the playing XI.
Since India’s premier fast bowler Zaheer Khan was not available for the England tour and Ishant Sharma also got injured after the second test match, Ishwar Pandey was very close to playing a test match in England, but MS Dhoni, India’s captain at that time, decided to go with the Rajasthan fast bowler Pankaj Singh.
Despite the fact Pankaj Singh didn’t live up to the expectations in his debut test match in Southampton, Dhoni went with him again in the next game, keeping Ishwar on the bench.
Super Thanks for all your strides in Yellove, Ishwar Pandey! #Yellove #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/W61wYBgkDU
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) September 12, 2022
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Ishwar Pandey couldn’t make his debut on the New Zealand tour either
Ishwar Pandey then didn’t get his opportunity in New Zealand either and he eventually had to finish his career as an uncapped India player, even though he played plenty of games in IPL.
According to Ishwar, this is probably the only regret of his career that he never got the chance to represent his country, but he takes great pride in the fact that he got to share the dressing room with some of the legends of the game like Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and MS Dhoni.
