Ishwar Pandey recently announced his retirement and said that if MS Dhoni has given him a break at the start of his career, then his career would have turned out to be completely different.
"Had Dhoni given me a chance my career would have been something else. I was 23-24 years old at that time and my fitness was great. Had Dhoni given me a chance to play for India and if I had performed then my career would have been different," Pandey was quoted as saying by Dainik Bhaskar.
In an Instagram post, Pandey said that his experience of sharing the dressing room with the likes of Kohli, Dhoni, and Suresh Raina was special.
“To share the dressing room with modern-day greats like Virat Kohli MS Dhoni Yuvraj Singh Suresh Raina Ishant Sharma Ravindra Jadeja Bhuvneshwar Kumar was very special and to include played a match against Legend Sachin Tendulkar Sir was like a dream come true. I started watching cricket because of him and I have always admired him since my childhood," the post read.
He further added he will always remain connected to the game.
“Cricket for me is everything and I will always love to be connected to this game. To all my fans and well-wishers, I would like to thank you and I will want you all to keep supporting me with the love you have always given to me. Forever and grateful and blessed - Ishwar Pandey," he added.
Pandey also said that it was an honour for him to be part of the Indian team for the test series against England and New Zealand.
“It was an honour to be part of the Indian team for the test series against England and New Zealand. Though I was not fortunate enough to play a game for my country but still to be a part of the Indian team will always be the most special memory of my life," he wrote.
He continued, “I still feel bad that I couldn’t get a game to play for my country and I will always be known as an uncapped Indian cricket player."
In his career, Pandey played 75 first-class matches, 58 List A games, and 71 T20s. He scalped a total of 394 wickets. The 33-year-old played 25 matches in the IPL and picked 18 wickets.
