Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad has urged the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel to pick Rishabh Pant in the T20 World Cup squad. Pant has made a terrific comeback after recovering from multiple injuries, which he suffered in a horrific car accident.
Pant is the leading run-getter for Delhi Capitals in the ongoing IPL 2024 with 210 runs in seven matches. The left-hander has scored his runs at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 156.71.
Pant has scored two fifties in the ongoing edition of the tournament and has batted at the top of his game. Furthermore, Pant has been brilliant behind the stumps and it was all on display against Gujarat Titans when he took two fine catches and also effected two stumpings.
“The selection for the Indian team is up in the air a little bit. You have some players pending in that team. Rishabh Pant’s probably the one on whom there’s a lot of discussion about. There was a shot I saw him play against KKR, a no-look flick over deep square leg for six. The moment he played that shot, I thought, he has got to be in that T20 World Cup squad. He’s ready. He’s good to go,” Broad told Star Sports.
Pant has multiple roles to perform at Delhi Capitals being the wicket-keeper, captain, and batter in the middle order. Broad wants DC to use Pant as an impact substitute in some matches to manage his workload.
“He has taken a huge amount on, he’s been out of the game for such a long period. He’s captain, he’s wicketkeeper, he’s batting 3, 4, 5. There’s a huge amount on his plate already. I’d like to see him be an Impact Sub in a couple of games, take a bit of the workload off his shoulders,” said Broad.
“But as soon as he played that shot… it wasn’t determined, he saw the line, and it went for six. And I thought, that guy had to play. That tells me his match sharpness is already up to speed. He’s a match-winner, so I think if I was the selector, he’d be my wicketkeeper in the World Cup squad.”
Delhi Capitals will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Saturday.
