Ishwar Pandey claims he couldn't play for India as MS Dhoni didn't back him

For those who don't remember, swing bowler Ishwar Pandey played for Chennai in the Indian T20 League 2014 under MS Dhoni. He also played under Dhoni when he was signed by the now-defunct Pune team. The right-arm bowler came close to playing for India but couldn't make it. Now, after he announced his retirement from all forms of the game, he has blamed Dhoni for not being able to play for the national side.

The Madhya Pradesh player has said that if he was given a chance in the national side, things would have been different. For the unversed, he played for India A and was close to making his Test debut in the 2014 tour of New Zealand. However, he missed out on the selection during the two-match series. Meanwhile, Pandey said that his fitness was up to the standards.

“If Dhoni had given a chance, my career would have been different. Then I was 23-24 years old and my fitness was also very good. Had Dhoni bhai given me a chance and I would have done well for the country, my career would have been different for sure,” Pandey was quoted as saying by The Dainik Jagran.

Being part of the Indian team will always be special: Ishwar Pandey

The 33-year-old added that even though he couldn't play for the Men In Blue, he was fortunate to be part of the team. He also thanked the now-defunct Pune and Chennai owners for selecting him.

“Though I was not fortunate enough to play a game for my country but still to be a part of Indian team will always be the most special memory of my life. I would like to thanks RPSG and CSK for further selecting me. To be a part of CSK team and to play IPL finals and winning Champions League was special. I absolutely loved my time playing for CSK for 2 years under the guidance of MSD and Stephen Fleming,” Pandey wrote in his retirement post on Instagram.