Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting believes Rishabh Pant should be selected in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad ahead of other options. Ponting did not deny the immense talent in India for the wicketkeeper-batter role and the contenders like Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson but said Pant trumps all.
"Do I believe whether Rishabh should be there in the World Cup squad? Absolutely I do. He deserves to be in that WT20 squad by the end of the IPL, I think we have seen Rishabh play the way we have seen him play in the last six seasons of IPL and now back playing for India. One thing we certainly know that there is a lot of depth around Indian cricket, with keeper batters and I feel some guys are in really good form at the moment. Kishan is playing well, Samson is playing well and KL Rahul is playing well, there's a lot of options there but if I was picking a team, I would have Rishabh Pant in it every day of the week," Ponting said in an exclusive interview with PTI.
Pant has recovered from the injuries suffered in a life-threatening car accident on December 30, 2022. He was out of cricketing action for 14 months before leading DC again. There were doubts over whether the explosive batter will return to his old self despite injuries that threatened to end his career.
Pant’s form in IPL 2024
After a couple of sluggish starts on his return, the DC captain scored two consecutive half-centuries. In the previous game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), he contributed with a quickfire 41 in the run chase. He has been able to dominate pacers with his unorthodox style. Also, he has attacked spinners by stepping down the ground showcasing the injury hasn’t had an effect on his feet movement.
Karthik ahead of Pant
So far, he has scored 194 runs from six games at an average of 32.33. His strike rate has been an impressive 157.72. The only Indian wicketkeeper-batter who is ahead of him in the list of leading run-scorers is Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Dinesh Karthik. The veteran wicketkeeper has scored 226 runs from six innings at an average of 75.33 including a couple of fifties. His strike rate is an outrageous 205.45, better than any batter in top 20.
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