Ricky Ponting wants Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik to be picked ahead of Ishan Kishan in 20-20 World Cup 2022
Former Australian cricketer, Ricky Pointing said that at the moment he would pick Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant as the preferred choices to keep wickets and bat in the middle order for the Men in Blue. The side has not been zeroed on in by the national selectors for the 20-20 World Cup 2022 because there have been many developments emerging and as a result, no final call has been made.
Ponting and Pant have been working together for quite some time as the former is the head coach of the Delhi franchise at the Indian T20 League, and the latter is the skipper of the franchise. The former Australian skipper believes that Pant has the ability and he should be in the squad alongside Karthik, who also deserves a spot.
“We have seen what Rishabh is capable of in 50-over cricket, and I know absolutely what he is capable of in the T20 game. Dinesh Karthik has had his best IPL ever just very recently… and I would be trying to find every way to have both of those guys in my team,” Ponting said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.
Important players for the Men in Blue have been coming back to the national side and are in form. Hardik Pandya has also made a comeback in national colors and alongside Dinesh Karthik and an in-form Rishabh Pant makes the middle order of the Men in Blue look very potent.
“Rishabh to bat, in that three-four-five range, and have Dinesh and maybe Hardik Pandya if you have those guys finishing for you, well that batting line-up looks very, very dangerous,” Ponting added.
The Australian great also feels that with Pant and Karthik on the side, Ishan Kishan might miss out on the wicketkeeper-batter spot in the team, but he added that Suryakumar Yadav, who recently hit a century against England, might get a chance given his current form in the T20I’s.
“Obviously, that means someone like Kishan or Surya or Shreyas Iyer, someone like that, might miss out and I don’t think Surya will miss out given his current form. But when you have so much talent, picking an Indian team is always going to be difficult and Pant and Karthik would be the two I would pick ahead of Kishan right now,” Ponting added.
