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ToggleIndia, on Monday, became the third team, after New Zealand and Australia, to name their squad for the upcoming World Cup in England. The biggest talking point from the squad was the surprised omission of Rishabh Pant. The young wicketkeeper-batsman was looking set to catch the flight to England after being named in the squad for the series against Australia. Moreover, the selectors had dropped Dinesh Karthik from the squad, thus giving a big indication that Pant was ahead in the pecking order.
However, the MSK Prasad-led selection panel sprung a mighty surprise by recalling Karthik and dropping Rishabh Pant. Pant has been one of India’s most impressive performers since making his Test debut in England last year. After finishing the last season of the IPL as the second highest run-scorer, he had hit the ground in Test arena, scoring a sensational century at The Oval against England. On the historic tour of Australia, he was the second highest run-scorer.
Read More: MSK Prasad Reveals The Reason Behind Rishabh Pant’s Omission
But perhaps the failure to impress in white-ball cricket especially the last two ODIs against Australia last month cost him the World Cup squad.
Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vijay Shankar, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik
Karthik, on the other hand, was groomed as the finisher in the last one year or so but was dropped against Australia. Many felt that it was curtains for Karthik. However, the selectors have prioritised experience over youth and thus named the veteran as MS Dhoni’s backup. In another surprising decision, Vijay Shankar made it to the squad too.
Read More: MSK Prasad Reveals India’s Backup Pacers For World Cupn
Meanwhile, Twitter was not at all impressed with Pant’s omission and did not take long to express its displeasure. Here are some of the reactionsL
https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/1117726711796289536
No Rishabh Pant, no Ambati Rayudu.
No dark horse picks too – either fourth seamer or x-factor like Shreyas Gopal.
— Saurabh Somani (@saurabh_42) April 15, 2019
No Rahane, No Rayudu, No Rishabh Pant, No Ashwin but players like KL Rahul still finds a place in the 15 man squad. Another reason not to watch #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/fnCtVWSGiD
— CuriousRavi (@ravikiran248) April 15, 2019
Rishabh Pant looking at India’s #CWC2019 squad announcement pic.twitter.com/Dk8WOTn0xV
— The Lying Lama 2.0 (@KyaUkhaadLega) April 15, 2019
Hard luck Rishabh Pant. He will be back stronly in 2020 t20 wc and 2023 world cup
— Abishek (@abishekitsme) April 15, 2019
Rishabh Pant has a Category A 5 crores central contract with BCCI but doesn't feature in the final 15 for WC??
— Z N E D (@MadMart05) April 15, 2019
#worldcupsquad #WorldCup2019
*BCCI selects Dinesh Kartik Over Rishabh Pant*
Rishabh Pant to BCCI- pic.twitter.com/D9XVTArpmU— N I T I N (@theNitinWalke) April 15, 2019
India's 15-member squad announced for the #ICCworldcup2019. The non-selection of Ambati Rayudu and Rishabh Pant is hardly surprising. Rayudu's current form does not exude any confidence, while Pant needs to learn how to finish the games.
— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) April 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/Pranjultweet/status/1117734977431412736