He started his career as an equally talented U-19 cricketer like his illustrious peer Virat Kohli but Manish Pandey believes his former India colts colleague "fully deserved to play for the country" ahead of him.
Six years since their U-19 World Cup win in Kuala Lumpur, Kohli has established himself with 29 Tests, 140 ODIs and 28 T20 Internationals in his kitty but the 25-year-old Pandey feels that he will do everything to make it a memorable international career for himself.
"Virat evolved beautifully since that U-19 World Cup in 2008. He grew as a cricketer and he deserved to play for India much earlier than anyone else. He was completely ready to play for India at that time. Having said that, I don't think it's fair to draw a comparison between myself and Virat," Pandey told PTI during an interaction after his selection in the Indian team.
It took Pandey some time to break the national deadlock but now that he has got the breakthrough, he does not want to let it go.
"Undoubtedly, today is one of the best days of my career. You wait for that chance to don the India colours. That's why you play the game and want to perform at the best of your abilities. Since the door has finally opened for me, I want to make best use of it and play for the country for a long time," said an elated Pandey.
Pandey feels that post his match-winning innings of 94 in the IPL final, he was hopeful that he might be rewarded.
