Cricket News

‘One of the players to watch out for in the World Cup’- Ricky Ponting on this Indian player

Rishabh Pant has seen a meteoric rise in cricket. From being criticized for his approach to now being one of the first names in the senior national side and captaining Delhi, the wicketkeeper has achieved a great deal in his career already. With his explosive batting and characterful attitude, the Delhi cricketer has found many admirers, one of them happens to be the legendary cricketer Ricky Ponting.

Australian legend, who is now the head coach of the Delhi team in the Indian T20 League, has lauded the Delhi captain and feels that the southpaw would be one of the players to watch out for in the upcoming 20-20 World Cup.

“He is a wonderful cricketer who has the world at his feet. He’ll be exceptionally dangerous for India, especially on the wickets we’ll prepare in Australia (for the T20 World Cup) – good, fast, flat, bouncy wickets. So Pant will be one of the players to watch out for at the tournament, “said Punter in the latest episode of The Review show for the Governing body of Cricket.

Speaking of Pant’s batting position, Delhi Coach Ricky Ponting suggested, “They’ll have listed (him) at five in the batting line-up. But in certain situations, if they get to a stage where there are seven-eight overs to go and they’re one or two down, they’ll look to sending him in and giving him as much time as they can. He’s that dynamic, and that explosive. That’s certainly the way that I’ll try and use him.”

Rishabh Pant who led the Delhi side in this season’s Indian T20 League did not perform to his usual high standards. In the 14 matches played this season, he could only muster 340 runs, his second-lowest total in the league since he started playing. Currently the 24-year-old is captaining a young Indian side against South Africa at home in the absence of KL Rahul. India lost the first T20I match in Delhi and would be looking to bounce back to winning ways in the second T20I in Cuttack on June 12.