Was Surprised When Rishabh Pant Was Left Out Of WC Squad: Ricky Ponting

Rishabh Pant’s omission from India’s World Cup squad is attracting widespread debate. While some have insisted that experienced Dinesh Karthik is the right choice for the mega event, the others have questioned the decision to leave Pant who has the ability to turn around games in a blink of an eye. Pant has been one of India’s most impressive performers since making his Test debut in England last year.

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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. 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.

However, there were still calls to name him as MS Dhoni’s backup as many felt Pant could provide the team with the X factor.

Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting was the latest to give his views on the debatable decision.  The former Australia skipper said that he was taken aback by India’s decision to leave out Pant. The legendary batsman also said that Pant could have been the X-factor for India in the World Cup.

“I was surprised when he was left out of the squad. I thought he’ll be in and I thought he’ll actually play in the starting eleven. I thought that someone like him batting at No. 4 or 5 in their side would have just been that sort of player who could have had that X-factor about him that could have been the difference between India and some other teams in the World Cup,” Ricky Ponting said.

“One thing that we know about Indian cricket is that there is a lot of depth around, particularly around the batting side. Unfortunately this time Rishabh is the one that has missed out but as I said, I think knowing what he’s like and the talent he’s got I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t play at least three World Cups before his career is over,” he added.

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Meanwhile, it is not all lost for the youngster as he has made it to the standbys list. Along with Pant, veteran batsman Ambati Rayudu and speedster Navdeep Saini are India’s designated standbys for the ICC World Cup.