Should Rishabh Pant be picked in India’s T20 World Cup squad. Here’s what Sourav Ganguly has to say before the MI vs DC IPL 2024 match.
Declaring Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant “fully fit”, former India captain Sourav Ganguly said he would still wait for a few more IPL games to give a better view about the wicketkeeper-batter’s chances for making it to India’s squad for the T20 World Cup squad provided the selectors want to pick him.
Rishabh Pant interacting with Sourav Ganguly of Delhi Capitals during a practice session(Ravi Kumar/Hindustan Times)
Making a comeback to cricket after a 15-month-long gap following a horrific car crash in December 2022, Pant got off to a slow start in IPL 2024 but his back-to-back half-centuries against CSK and KKR have sent a strong signal.
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Asked if he thinks Pant is ready for selection in the India squad, Ganguly, who is DC’s director of cricket, said: “Let a few more matches go. He is doing very well. As you all must have seen, you know, (wicket) keeping, batting. He has held up well.
“His form has been fantastic, especially the way he has batted in the last two games. Let another week go, and I’ll be able to answer that question… provided the selectors want to pick him — that’s most important. He’s fit, fully fit,” Ganguly added.
Pant has currently scored 152 runs in four matches at a strike rate of nearly 160. While his batting is slowly picking up pace, doubts still remain over his keeping and whether his legs are ready to take the grind.
DC will take on the embattled five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Ganguly added that he was satisfied with the bowling department but the team, which has lost three of its four matches so far this season, could do with an extra batter.
“We have used the bowling part of it well in terms of Mukesh (Kumar), who’s developed under Delhi Capitals, Khaleel (Ahmed) and Ishant (Sharma).
“Prithvi Shaw… he’s come back into good form this season. Obviously, Rishabh is a domestic Indian talent. Abhishek Porel has started out well this season. We need to find one more batsman who can do it.
The legendary cricketer added that the likes of young players such as Ricky Bhui, and Kumar Kushagra could get opportunities to play as the tournament progresses.
Young Jharkhand batter Kushagra was bought by DC for a mindboggling ₹7.2 crore in the IPL auction but is yet to play an IPL match this season.
“It’s about opportunities at this level. Hopefully with the young players like (Ricky) Bhui, (Kumar) Kushagra, we can give them opportunities and see how it goes. It’s also on the balance of the side, whether you want to go the bowling way or the batting way,” said Ganguly.
“Of course, he (Kushagra) will play. We’re looking for an opportunity for him to play. We saw (Sameer) Rizvi play for Chennai, he also got a very high price tag.”The stylish former batter felt that Indian talent will flourish in the IPL as it is getting lots of opportunities.
“There’s a lot of Indian talent who’s doing well in IPL. (We) saw (Riyan) Parag do well for Rajasthan so far. Then there is Punjab (Kings’) Shashank Singh, he did well in the last game. Prabhsimran is also doing well for Punjab,” he said.
