The Indian squad for the T20 World Cup is expected to have few surprises, except for the return of Rishabh Pant. His selection might be seen as unexpected, considering his track record as a match-winner in 33 Tests, 30 ODIs, and 66 T20Is. Pant, who had been out of the Indian cricket scene due to an accident over 16 months ago, is now likely to make a comeback to the team.
Rishabh Pant Is All Set To Be Included In Team India’s T20 World Cup 2024 Squad
Pant has impressed one and all with his performances in the ongoing 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League. It won’t be wrong to say that his impressive performances have likely put him ahead of other contenders for his position in Team India.
The team management of the BCCI seems convinced that Pant is prepared for international cricket now. Unless he faces a significant drop in his form, Pant is expected to be selected for the upcoming tours to the US and West Indies.
Pant, who underwent knee surgery, has demonstrated that he is capable of both batting and keeping wicket. Former Australian cricketer Michael Clarke recently expressed his support for Pant’s return to the Indian team, indicating his desire to see Pant back in the national colors.
“Yeah look it’s great for Indian cricket, but it’s also great for Rishabh Pant. I think the work that has gone into his rehab to get back to that level of play at any standard is an amazing achievement. He deserves a lot of credit for his hard work and it’s great to see him on the field, captaining and playing well, batting and keeping,” the former Australia captain told Star Sports.
He added: “He’s a wonderful player and everybody is happy that he’s back on the field and we want to see him play for Delhi, but we also want to see him come back and play for India as soon as possible.”
Sourav Ganguly Also Backed Pant
Recently, former India captain and current BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly also mentioned that Pant has fully recovered from his injury and would like to observe a few more IPL matches before commenting on his potential selection for the national team. Pant’s recent scores in the IPL have been 18, 28, 51, 55, and 1. He had said:
“Let a few more matches go. He is doing very well, as you all must have seen, keeping batting. So he’s held up well and his form has been fantastic, especially the way he has batted in the last two games. So let another week go and I’ll be able to answer that question, provided the selectors want to pick him. So that’s most important. Yeah, yeah, he’s fully fit,”
In the 5 matches so far for Delhi Capitals, Pant has managed to score 153 runs, missing out only in the last game against Mumbai Indians. He faces competition from other players like Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, and Jitesh Sharma, who are also contending for the second wicketkeeper’s position in the Indian team.
