NEW DELHI:
Rishabh Pant
was selected as the "wildcard" member for the Rohit Sharma-led team in their
T20 World Cup final
against South Africa by former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, ahead of
Virat Kohli
and
Jasprit Bumrah
.
After a potentially fatal accident in December 2022, Pant's return to cricket has been an inspirational path for many.
The explosive left-handed hitter came back in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, leading Delhi Capitals.
His outstanding performance earned him a call-up to the Indian squad of fifteen players for the major tournament.
In India's opening game of the tournament, he displayed class by using a reverse scoop to send the ball over the wicketkeeper's head and clear the rope against Ireland.
Manjrekar identified
Pant
as the man to watch out for against South Africa on Saturday at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
"I think it will be, I think we will get a great idea about who the big match player is. I'm going to go with a wildcard and say Rishabh Pant will be the player to watch out for," Manjrekar, who features as an expert on the 'Caught and Bold' show on Disney+ Hotstar, told ANI.
Pant was promoted to the number three position while Virat Kohli and captain
Rohit Sharma
moved up to the opening position.
Pant has performed admirably in his new role, amassing 171 runs with a strike rate of 129.54 and an average of 28.50 in seven games.
In less than a year, head coach
Rahul Dravid
and captain Rohit will face off in their third
ICC tournament
final, and Pant will be eager to turn things around for the Indian team. India is still pursuing the goal of winning a World Cup trophy.
Millions of Indian fans suffered grief at the hands of Australia in both the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. But Australia isn't going to ruin the party this time around as they search for the ideal conclusion.
India sent Australia to the brink of elimination thanks to bowlers' influential spells and Rohit's 92-run blitzkrieg.
Afghanistan
's historic victory over a cricketing giant had the Baggy Greens stunned before to their collapse versus India.
It was Mitchell Marsh's team that suffered the consequences of their defeat to Afghanistan, but the 58-year-old believes that Australia and India were the two strongest teams during the tournament.
"Losing to Afghanistan When you have a bad day in a very tough format, you pay the price for it. It was as good a side as India. The two best sides in the tournament were India and Australia," Manjrekar added.
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