Dropping veteran batsman Manish Pandey was a “harsh” decision taken by selectors, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner said after his team’s agonising Super Over defeat against Delhi Capitals, here on Sunday.
IPL veteran Pandey, who hasn’t been scoring at a quick clip, was dropped for a much younger Jharkhand left-hander Virat Singh, who scored only 4 off 14 balls.
“It depends on the selectors, it was a harsh call as per my opinion,” Warner said, training his guns at coach Trevor Bayliss and mentor VVS Laxman, without naming them.
Bayliss and Laxman have a big say on team’s playing XI.
“But at the end of the day it is a decision that they took and you cannot discredit Virat. He’s a very good player and the surface was difficult. They bowled well in the middle and made it challenging for us,” Warner came to the young man’s defence.
Prithvi Shaw, who was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ said that the wicket slowed down a bit after Powerplay.
“It was a good wicket in the first six overs and then slowed down a little bit. I felt the wicket was slow and the spinners were bowling well. It was not easy to score against Rashid.
“I thought 160 was good to defend, but a close game. I’m just doing the stuff that I have worked with. I didn’t think about the Super Over, and I think Axar bowled really well in that Super Over. I wasn’t there [for the Super Over meeting]. I knew Rashid will bowl for sure and Shikhar and Pant will open for sure,” said Shaw.