MUMBAI: While his team Delhi Capitals have endured a poor start to the 2024 IPL, on a personal front,
Rishabh Pant
is ticking all the right boxes to push himself in contention for a spot in the Indian squad for the
T20 World Cup
in the West Indies and USA.
During his back-to-back half-centuries against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he showed that his power game is still intact, and so far in four games, he has been solid behind the wickets as well.
On Saturday, at the
Wankhede Stadium
, he spent considerable time in the nets, making sure he faced as many balls as possible and make-up for the time lost while recuperating from injuries sustained in a life threatening accident. Pant has scored 152 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of 158.33.
On the eve of their clash against Mumbai Indians,
Sourav Ganguly
, DC's director of cricket, said that Pant looks in good shape.
"Let a few more matches go. He is doing very well. As you all must have seen, keeping, batting, he has held up well. His form has been fantastic, especially the way he has batted in the last two games. Let another week go, and I'll be able to answer that question, provided the selectors want to pick him. But, he's fully fit," Ganguly said when quizzed about whether Pant is ready for the T20 World Cup.
While the former India captain was happy with how DC bowlers have done in the tournament, he was a bit concerned about their batting. He also said the franchise will be looking to give players like Ricky Bhui and Kumar Kushagra, who was bought for Rs 7.20 crore in the auction, more opportunities.
'FANS SHOULDN'T BOO HARDIK, NOT HIS FAULT'
It hasn't been the best of starts to
Hardik Pandya
's reign as Mumbai Indians' skipper and the constant booing at all the three venues MI have played so far, including at the Wankhede Stadium, hasn't helped his cause.
On Saturday, Ganguly jumped to the defence of the 30-year-old allrounder, who replaced
Rohit Sharma
as captain at the start of the season, and said that fans should stop booing him.
"I don't think the fans should boo Hardik Pandya. It's not correct. The franchise has appointed him captain. That's what happens in sport."
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