Rishabh Pant Has To Fit In Before World Cup 2019, Feels Sourav Ganguly

Rishabh Pant, India's young wicket-keeper, is eyeing an opportunity to make his presence felt in the limited-over cricket ahead of the ICC World Cup 2019, starting on May 30 in the UK. In the last five innings, Rishabh Pant managed scores of 1, 3, 28, 40 (not out) and 4. However, former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes that the 21-year-old wicket-keeper is a "player for the future" and he has to fit in before the mega event. Rishabh Pant is part of India's squad for the five-match ODI series against Australia, starting in Hyderabad on Saturday. It will be India's last 50-over assignment before the World Cup.

"He has to fit in. I don't know whether he would be able to fit in at this moment. So it depends. But he's obviously a player for the future," Ganguly told reporters in Kolkata.

Talking about KL Rahul, Ganguly said the Indian batsman has to get runs away from home. "I've been backing him. He has to score runs away from home. He's a superb talent. He played superbly in the two T20Is," he said. 

"Karthik is not part of the ODI squad then obviously they are not thinking of him as an option. It depends on what the selectors want," Ganguly added.

Kohli, ahead of India's first of the five one-dayers against Australia, said the IPL would not come in the way of selection for the World Cup.

"World Cup is how you play in the World Cup. It's (IPL) a different tournament. You just play and move on to the World Cup," Ganguly opined.

Ganguly termed the England-Wales World Cup to be the strongest because of the format.

"It's difficult to pick a winning recipe, you just have to play well. This will probably be the strongest World Cup because everybody plays everybody. 

"A lot of strong teams this time. India, Australia England, West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan play very well in England. After winning against South Africa, I hope Sri Lanka turn it around. It will be a good World Cup," Ganguly said. 

(With IANS inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Rishabh Pant Sourav Ganguly Cricket World Cup 2019