Rishabh Pant received lavish praise from Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting during a press conference by Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals on Tuesday.
Ponting, who is the head coach of Delhi Capitals, and Ganguly, who is the advisor for the same team, believe that young wicketkeeper-batsman Pant has a bright future ahead of him.
The 21-year-old had it all going for him at the start of this year, with Test centuries in England and Australia establishing him as an international cricketer.
However, a spate of poor performances in the limited overs series against Australia recently have put a question mark on Pant’s inclusion in India’s squad for the upcoming World Cup in England.
Ganguly and Ponting, though, have no doubt about Pant’s talent.
“For me, Rishabh Pant is the future,” said Ganguly. “He is a hard worker and he will be a huge asset for the country in the years to come. He is an option at the No 4 spot for Team India.
“Anybody who wants to succeed in shorter formats of the game he has to go up, we have seen the best in world do that. If you send Rishabh at number four, he will score runs for you because he is so talented, he has got so much time to play.
“In his short career he has been remarkable for India and once he starts getting opportunity consistently, he will be a top player.”
Pant had a terrific start to his Test career, becoming the first Indian wicketkeeper to score centuries in England and Australia, but there is a perception that he hasn’t showed the temperament or tasted as much success in the shorter formats.
During an interaction organised by the Delhi Capitals on Tuesday, Ganguly didn’t agree with the viewpoint.
“Look at the way he played in the IPL last year, he got a full tournament, 14 games, and he was probably the second highest run-getter in the IPL last year.
“The problem with him in shorter formats is that he doesn’t get regular cricket because you have a champion in MS Dhoni who actually plays most of the shorter formats, so Rishabh is coming in and going out all the time and that’s never good for anybody, however quality a player you are,” Ganguly said.
Pant’s exploits with the willow have taken the cricket world by a storm in recent months.
Ganguly said, “The reason he succeeds in Test cricket is because he plays consistently. How many Indian wicketkeeper-batsmen have got Test hundreds in England and Australia, and he scored them with ease. It’s not that he struggled, it’s not that he looked out of place against fast bowling.
“For me, he is your future. For the next 10 years, you will see that boy a lot in all formats of the game and not because he plays for Delhi, he can play for anyone he wants to.”
Pant will be eyeing a successful IPL with the rechristened Delhi Capitals.
“Just the serious talent he is, he is a hard worker, I have been watching him at nets for the last four years, he is always the first one to come out and bat for longer periods. He will be huge asset to Indian cricket in the years to come,” said Ganguly.
Ponting echoed Ganguly’s views and even went on to say that Pant is capable of winning India the World Cup. “The first thing I would do is pick him in that Indian squad for the World Cup, I would play him as a batter, I would play him at number four,” said the former Australian captain.
“He is the sort of guy, with that kind of talent, he can win you a World Cup, he has just got that x-factor.”
Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals take on the Mumbai Indians in their opening match of IPL 2019 on March 24 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Delhi Capitals squad for IPL 2019
Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Manjot Kalra, Colin Munro, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Hanuma Vihari, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Ankush Bains, Nathu Singh, Colin Ingram, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Jalaj Saxena, Bandaru Ayyappa.
Inputs from PTI
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