Ganguly, Ponting back Pant to be included in India's T20 World Cup squad

Based on what they've seen of him so far in the IPL 2024, Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting believe Rishabh Pant should be part of India's T20 World Cup squad.

"Yes, I think Pant should be part of the World Cup squad," Ganguly said in New Delhi on Monday. "He should bat in the middle order. Where exactly is difficult to say because of the match-ups, right-left combinations, depending on who is bowling. It also depends on the situation.

Ponting said Pant was a little apprehensive at the start of the season about what he could do, especially with his wicketkeeping, but he has "got better every game":

"He's starting to get a bit more trust and belief in his body as well. I think early on he had been a little bit apprehensive as to what he could do, especially with the wicketkeeping side of it. With his batting, coming into the tournament, he had pretty good trust in his abilities.”

Pant, who returned to competitive cricket after a 15-month lay-off following a car accident, has so far scored 254 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 150.29. Batting predominantly in the middle order, he has taken wickets in every game, something that Delhi's support staff seemed to doubt at the start of the season. He's likely to compete with Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Jitesh Sharma for the spot.

On Saturday, RCB's Dinesh Karthik said he was keen to try and make India's World Cup squad after some exceptional performances in the IPL 2024.

India must name their T20 World Cup squad by the end of April.