Kolkata: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday once again rued that young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant would be sorely missed during the ODI World Cup, commencing on 30 May in UK.
“India will miss Pant in the World Cup. I don’t know in whose place but he will be missed,” Ganguly told reporters at Eden Gardens. The explosive 21-year-old Pant was a notable omission from India’s World Cup-bound squad as the national selectors picked an experienced Dinesh Karthik as the second choice wicketkeeper.
Pant had a stupendous season amassing 488 runs from 16 matches at an average of 37.53 and with a strike rate of 162.66. With Kedar Jadhav sustaining a shoulder injury during an IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab, the medical staff is opting a wait and watch policy on his availability for India’s World Cup opener against South Africa on 5 June.
Asked whether Pant’s name can crop up in case Jadhav fails to get fit, Ganguly said: “He is injured. It’s difficult to say whether he will get fit or not. I hope Kedar gets fit.” Ganguly is the advisor of IPL franchise Delhi Capitals, a team for which Pant recently scored massive runs although it failed to make the final.
“We played exceptionally well but two other teams made the final. The season just got over, we have not thought about it (the way forward),” Ganguly said about their loss to Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 2. Ganguly rated CSK’s MS Dhoni and Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma as two best captains of the IPL.
“Two best captains of the IPL and one of them won. Everyone will learn under pressure. Both CSK and Mumbai were fantastic teams,” said Ganguly.