Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting wants India to pick Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik ahead of Ishan Kishan in the T20 World Cup. India is spoiled for choices as they have a potent bench strength due to the IPL and these three can take the gloves.
Furthermore, there is Sanju Samson, who is always a treat to the eyes when he gets going. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant finally grabbed his opportunity in the white-ball team as he scored a fine knock of 125 runs in the deciding ODI against England at Old Trafford, Manchester in the run-chase of 260.
However, Pant hasn’t played at his best in the shortest format of the game for the national team. The left-hander didn’t have the best of IPL while leading Delhi Capitals. Moreover, he could not deliver the goods in the series against South Africa and failed to take his chances as an opener against England.
On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik has been in amazing form and he is expected to play as a finisher. Karthik had scored 330 runs in 16 matches for RCB at a blistering strike rate of 183.33 and an impressive average of 55. Subsequently, Karthik was able to get back into the Indian team and he has done a decent job while batting in the lower-middle order.
Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan had batted at the top of his game against South Africa as he scored 206 in five matches at an average of 41.20.
“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.
“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,” he added.
Ponting believes Suryakumar Yadav will find a place in the team’s final XI given his current form. SKY had scored 117 runs off just 55 balls in the second T20I against England.
“Obviously that means someone like (Ishan) Kishan or Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) 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 said.
India will next take on West Indies in five T20Is and three ODIs.
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