Mumbai, April 6 (IANS): As he made a successful return to action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 there has been talk of Rishabh Pant making it back to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup to be held in the Caribbean and the United States in June this year. However, Delhi Capitals' Director of Cricket and former India captain Sourav Ganguly says he will only assert that Pant is ready for selection in the T20 World Cup only after he plays a few more matches.
With the senior national selection committee set to announce the squad for the T20 World Cup, there has been speculation on whether Pant has recovered enough from the life-threatening accident he suffered in December 2022 which kept him out of action for 14 months. Pant is currently the top-scorer for Delhi Capitals with 152 runs so far and this has given rise to expectations that Pant could make it to the team for the T20 World Cup despite doubts in some corners whether he is sufficiently recovered.
Delhi Capitals' Director of Cricket and former India captain Sourav Ganguly has said that it will need a few more matches to prove that Pant is ready for selection in the T20 World Cup.
"Let us let a few more matches go. He is doing very well, as you all must have seen, you know, wicketkeeping, 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," said Ganguly in the pre-match press conference ahead of Delhi Capitals' IPL 2024 match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
Ganguly asserted that Pant is fully fit and raring to go.
Ganguly also lauded IPL as a platform that gives opportunities to young Indian cricketers to showcase their talent. He said currently many Indian players are doing well at the various IPL Indian franchises.
"There's a lot of Indian talent who's doing well in IPL. (Riyan) Parag has done well for Rajasthan so far. Then there is the young boy from Punjab, Prabhsimran Singh. He did well in the last game. Shashank Singh did well in the last game to win it for Punjab.
"It's about opportunities. It's about opportunities at this level. And hopefully, with the young players like (Ricky) Bhui, (Kumar) Kushagra, we can give them opportunities and see how it goes," he said.