“C’mon boy, you’re the one! Now give them that look!” Manish Pandey blushed as Rahul Dravid sledged him in good humour. India’s only centurion in the IPL was doing a promo shoot for the Belagavi Panthers team in the KPL on Sunday afternoon, under the watchful eyes of the Team India members who were going through the final day of their training camp.

Life hasn’t been the same for Pandey since that hundred for Bangalore Royal Challengers, and the player says one visible change is how he always tries to be stylishly turned out — low-waisted jeans, tight shirts unbuttoned slightly at the top, and spiked hair. “People recognise me now and ask for my autograph,” he says. “But it’s important how you handle the fame and money, especially for young guys like me. Right now, I just give everything to Mom and Dad, and am happy to be only occupied with cricket.”

Despite all the IPL acclaim, Pandey is wary of being branded a T20 player. His worst fears came true when he was overlooked for the recent Emerging Players tournament. “This format is just played for fun — I’m not a specialist T20 player. I don’t want to be only called the first Indian IPL centurion all my life. Real cricket is Test cricket, and I want to register my presence in the one-dayers and longer versions too. I’ve already spent a lot of time sulking on missing the Emerging tournament, but I’ve decided to stake my claim with more improved performances in the Ranji Trophy,” he says.

... contd.