Image Credit- BCCI
Rishabh Pant’s recall would be the only surprise on the Indian team for the T20 World Cup. Otherwise, it’s hard to call the choice of a proven match-winner who has played 33 Tests, 30 ODIs, and 66 T20Is surprising. That being said, the wicketkeeper-batsman, who was sidelined in Indian cricket for over 16 months after a horrific accident, is expected to be called up again.
The Indian team and the think-tank are thought to be confident that he is ready for international play based on his recent exploits in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), which seem to have given him a clear advantage over his rivals for the post. If his results are not appallingly low, he might be traveling to the United States and the West Indies.
Pant, who had a surgery to his knee, has shown that he is ready to bat and keep. Michael Clarke gave him a thumbs-up recently, saying he wants to see Pant back in India colours. “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 went on to add: “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.”
Former India captain and president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly, has stated that Pant has fully recovered from his injury and that he will wait to comment on his international selection until after a few more IPL matches. Ganguly has attended numerous selection committee meetings. Pant has scored 18, 28, 51, 55, and 1 in the IPL thus far.
“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,” Ganguly said the other day.