The forgotten IPL OG: How cricket repaid Manish Pandey in Kolkata

There is a particular kind of cricketer who never gets the biography, rarely gets the documentary, but always, always, seems to be around when it matters. Manish Pandey is that cricketer. KKR vs MI: Highlights | Scorecard On Wednesday night at Eden Gardens, in a must-win game against Mumbai Indians, he did what he has quietly done for two decades, contributed in every way imaginable, without fuss, without fanfare. A catch in the ring. A steadying hand at the crease. 45 runs on a pitch that made run-scoring feel like hard labour. Read Full Story But before we get to the night itself, consider the number: 19. Manish Pandey has featured in all 19 seasons of the Indian Premier League. He shares that distinction with exactly three others — Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni. The names require no introduction. Between them, they have amassed thousands of international appearances, World Cup medals, and enough records to fill an encyclopedia. Manish Pandey, by contrast, played 29 ODIs and 39 T20Is. His international career never quite caught the fire that everyone who watched him bat in his prime felt it should. While his three contemporaries scaled Everest, Pandey quietly climbed smaller mountains — doing it again, and again, and again. In the last six seasons, he has managed just 28 innings. He last played a full IPL season way back in 2020, for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is 36 years and 263 days old. And he is still here. Still prowling like a tiger. Wednesday began before the batting even started. Chasing a catch inside the ring — the kind high and swirling, the sort that younger fielders misjudge. Pandey settled under it with the calm authority of a man who has caught a thousand of them. Earlier in the season, he had taken a catch against RCB that Shane Watson, KKR's assistant coach, says will be in contention for Catch of the Season. Manish Pandey has been on fire on the field (PTI Photo) 'NOT SURE HOW HE'S DOING IT' When Watson speaks about Pandey, the admiration is unguarded. "I'm not sure how he's doing it, but obviously he's an older guy. I know when I was his age, I certainly wasn't moving anything like he's moving in the field. He's still incredibly fit. He prepared so beautifully for this IPL, and he's still one of our fittest and one of our best fielders." Pandey himself offers no mystery to the secret. Just relentless, unglamorous work. "We probably end up batting for one hour, also spend about 45 minutes on fielding every day relentlessly. Doesn't matter if it's raining or it's a sunny day. Because I don't bowl, I enjoy fielding and I want to contribute — even from a single saving point of view to taking brilliant catches and run outs. That's been my forte." The man of all seasons The man of many brilliant catches Hear from Manish Pandey on what it takes to be such a fantastic fielder Scorecard | #KhelBindaas | #KKRvMI | @im_manishpandey | @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/JfRDIiBry8— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 20, 2026 Then came the batting. KKR were chasing 148 on a surface where even timing the ball felt like a reward rather than a given. They had already lost Finn Allen for 8. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, the in-form youngster who had been blistering through the season, had been forced off with a concussion. The No. 3 slot opened up. Pandey had been padded up since the first ball, watching, waiting — as he had in the four games before this one where he never got to bat at all. Now, finally, it was his turn. "This was the only game I've actually batted," he said afterwards, with a laugh that carried four games of patient waiting in it. "I've been padded up and waiting to bat, but didn't get the opportunity. But I think this was a special one. Wanted to stay there and hopefully make our team win, and that's what happened." What followed was a masterclass in intelligent, experienced T20 batting. No sixes. Six boundaries. The rest of his 45 runs — off 33 balls — came from hard running, sharp singles, and the kind of gap-finding that you only develop over two decades of professional cricket. He accelerated when the moment demanded it, and anchored when it didn't. KKR went from 48 for 3 and wobbling to 118 for 4 and cruising. By the time Bumrah rattled his stumps, the job was essentially done. Rovman Powell finished it with a flourish. Watson had been watching from the dugout, and he wasn't surprised. "The positions that he's getting into, the freedom with how he's playing, the practice matches, the centre wickets — he's been batting so beautifully. Having an opportunity to bat at No. 3 today showed how well he's batting. He did a beautiful job to steady the ship for us." Then Watson added something that lands differently when you know what Pandey has had to endure: "The way he's batting at the moment is as good as I've seen him bat for quite a while. So that's exciting for him as an individual, because he's an incredibly good person — but also exciting for us at KKR." CRICKET REWARDS PANDEY KKR are now on 13