Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting believe Rishabh Pant should be in India’s T20 World Cup squad based on what they’ve seen of him so far in IPL 2024.
“Yes, I think so, Pant should be part of the World Cup squad,” Ganguly said in New Delhi on Monday. “He should bat in the middle order. Where exactly is difficult to say because of match-ups, right-left combinations depending on who bowls. It also depends on the situation.”
Pant, who made his return to competitive cricket after a 15-month layoff due to a car crash, has so far scored 254 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 150.29. He has predominantly batted in the middle order and has kept wickets in every game, something Delhi’s support staff seemed a little doubtful about at the start of the season. He’s likely to compete with Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, and Jitesh Sharma for the spot.
Ponting said Pant was a little apprehensive early in the season on what he could do, especially with his wicketkeeping, but he had “gotten better and better every game.”
“He’s starting to get a bit more trust and belief in his body as well,” Ponting said. “I think early on he had been a little bit apprehensive as to what he could do, especially with the wicketkeeping side of it. With his batting, coming into the tournament, he had pretty good trust in his abilities.
“I think his batting is getting better and better by the game. I’ve been asked a lot already over the last couple of weeks, now that he’s back and playing, what I think about his World Cup chances. I think he’ll be in the squad for sure. I think he’s too good of a player and can have too much of an impact on the game. He’s the heartbeat and soul [of Delhi Capitals] and hopefully from here on, he can help us win some more games.”
India will have to pick their squad for the T20 World Cup by the end of April.
