Manish Pandey returns for Kolkata Knight Riders, becomes third player to feature in all 19 IPL seasons
Veteran brings experience, 3,942 runs in 174 matches, including IPL’s first Indian century
Sunrisers Hyderabad sit third with 6 wins in 9; KKR building momentum after slow start
SRH Vs KKR, IPL 2026: Is Manish Pandey Playing Today's Indian Premier League Match?
Manish Pandey is playing his first match of the 2026 season for Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, May 3, returning to the XI against Sunrisers Hyderabad as KKR look to build momentum
Summary
Manish Pandey returned to the XI for Kolkata Knight Riders against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday, May 3, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, replacing Ramandeep Singh in his first outing of the 2026 season.
At 37, the Karnataka batter became only the third cricketer in IPL history to feature in all 19 seasons, joining Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Kohli has stayed loyal to one franchise, Rohit has played for two, Pandey’s journey has been far more nomadic.
From Mumbai Indians to Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune Warriors India, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, and now KKR again, Pandey has been a constant presence across changing eras of the league.
The numbers back that up. Across 174 IPL matches, he has scored 3,942 runs, including 22 fifties and a landmark century, the first by an Indian in the league, a 114* for RCB back in 2009. Even last season, in limited chances, he managed 92 runs in three games at a strike rate above 140.
At the toss, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane said, “We wanted to bat first as well. Those breaks so far, it really helped us as a team, re-coupling and thinking about the things which we did right and the improvement point of view. As I said in the last game as well, it's all about winning those moments, small, small moments in this format."
He added, "Game can change here and there within an over. It's all about being present, being slightly proactive and also winning those moments. I thought those breaks, so far, definitely helped. We've got two changes. Finn Allen is back in place of Seifert and then Manish Pandey is playing his first game of this season in place of Ramandeep Singh.”
Sunrisers Hyderabad come in with serious momentum, six wins from nine, 12 points on the board, firmly placed third. Another victory would take them a step closer to locking in a playoff spot.
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KKR have had a messy start but are finding rhythm. With experience back in the middle order and belief slowly returning, they are not folding just yet, and Pandey’s return fits right into that late push narrative.
SRH Vs KKR, IPL 2026: Toss Update And Playing XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad have won the toss and have opted to bat.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga
SRH Vs KKR, IPL 2026: Impact Subs
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact subs: Finn Allen, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert
Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact subs: Praful Hinge, Harsh Dubey, Liam Livingstone, Sakib Hussain, Zeeshan Ansari
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