Ishwar Pandey, a former fast bowler for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), decided to call it quits from all forms of cricket on September 13, 2022. The fast bowler posted a few reflective words on Instagram, in which he reflected on the ups and downs of his cricketing career, as well as the joys and satisfactions he experienced along the way.
Part of his post says, “I had to get up early, ride my bike 20 km every morning and evening for training, and think about cricket all the time. It was a struggle that I will always remember.”
Ishwar Pandey participated in 25 matches during the Indian Premier League (IPL), most of which were captained by MS Dhoni. He grabbed 18 wickets while having an economy rate of 7.70. In addition to that, the fast bowler had taken 263 scalps in first-class cricket over the course of 75 games, averaging a remarkable 26.
What did Ishwar Pandey say about MS Dhoni?
Ishwar was one of the finest red-ball bowlers while he was at the height of his career, despite the fact that his statistics aren’t very outstanding. Despite this, Ishwar did not have the necessary backing from the captain of his CSK team, MS Dhoni, who was also the Test Captain of Team India at that time.
In an interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Ishwar Pandey regretted that MS Dhoni didn’t help him when his career was at its peak. He said, “If Dhoni had given me a chance, my cricket career would have been something else. At that time, I was 23 or 24 years old. I was in great form. My career would have been different if Dhoni had given me a chance to play for India and if I had done well.”
Throughout his career, Pandey was never chosen to be a member of Team India’s playing 11. Despite this, he was a member of the Indian squad that competed against New Zealand in a series of tests and one-day internationals in 2014.
