Rishabh Pant could do no wrong on Wednesday.
DC's win with 67 balls remaining is their biggest in IPL (in terms of number of balls remaining).
The ball took the inside edge and took an awkward course, But Rishabh Pant was ready as he took a smart catch by diving to his left.
He deserves to be in that WT20 squad by the end of the IPL," Ponting told PTI in an exclusive interview.
There are a lot of options but if I was picking a team, I would have Rishabh Pant in it every day of the week," the 'Punter' made his call.
Rishabh Pant could do no wrong on Wednesday. Leading Delhi Capitals against Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2024, Pant's wicketkeeping was top-notch as he was involved in several dismissals as GT got all out for just 89. Then, he stayed unbeaten and took DC home in just 8.5 overs. DC's win with 67 balls remaining is their biggest in IPL (in terms of number of balls remaining). While the GT batters played some poor shots, the chirpy Pant made sure to make their stay at the pitch difficult.
One of his four dismissals from behind the stumps is going viral. It happened in the fifth over when David Miller pushed a delivery from Ishant Sharma. The ball took the inside edge and took an awkward course, But Rishabh Pant was ready as he took a smart catch by diving to his left.
Ek haath hi kaafi hai
From one-handed sixes to one-handed catches, Rishabh Pant can do it all #GTvDC #TATAIPL #IPLonJioCinema pic.twitter.com/1JZEuLiL5T — JioCinema (@JioCinema) April 17, 2024
Ahead of the match, Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting talked about Pant's chances as India's No. 1 wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup.
"Do I believe whether Rishabh should be there in the World Cup squad? Absolutely I do. He deserves to be in that WT20 squad by the end of the IPL," Ponting told PTI in an exclusive interview.
"I think we have seen Rishabh play the way we have seen him play in last five or six years in IPL, and now back playing for India," added the Australian batting great.
While he acknowledged that there are lots of options for Indian selectors as far as choosing a keeper-batter goes, Pant remains the No.1 choice for him.
"One thing we certainly know that there is lot of depth around Indian cricket. With keeper-batters, I feel some guys are in really good form at the moment. (Ishan) Kishan is playing well, (Sanju) Samson is playing well and KL Rahul is playing well. There are a lot of options but if I was picking a team, I would have Rishabh Pant in it every day of the week," the 'Punter' made his call.
