Cricket fraternities along with the fans were left amazed after BCCI decided to go for experience over the 'X-factor' by selecting veteran batsman Dinesh Karthik above Rishabh Pant for the World Cup in England and Wales.
Opinions differed as one section believed someone of Karthik’s experience would help India in tight situations, while others were of belief that Pant’s explosive nature should have been taken into consideration. And Delhi coach Ricky Ponting belongs to the latter constituent.
Praising the 21-year-old maturity, the former Australian batsman said that though he is very disappointed to be left out, he has taken the news pretty well.
"I had a quick chat to him on Monday night, he seems to have taken it pretty well. There's no doubt that he's disappointed, I'm sure he would have loved to have been in that squad, as a lot of other players would have as well.
"But the thing that he has to remember, and we all have to remember, he's still very, very young. He's got an opportunity to play potentially in another three or four World Cups during the course of his career," Ponting said on Wednesday (April 17).
Adding further, Ponting voiced his opinion that he was left surprised when Pant’s name on India’s 15-man World Cup squad was nowhere to be found. "I was surprised when he was left out of the squad. I thought he'll be in and I thought he'll actually play in the starting eleven. I thought that someone like him batting at No. 4 or 5 in their side would have just been that sort of player who could have had that X-factor about him that could have been the difference between India and some other teams in the World Cup.”
Given Pant’s age though, Ponting also mentioned that there’s still a long way to go for the youngster and he will be surprised if he (Pant) doesn’t play at least three World Cups.
"One thing that we know about Indian cricket is that there is a lot of depth around, particularly around the batting side. Unfortunately this time Rishabh is the one that has missed out but as I said, I think knowing what he’s like and the talent he’s got I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t play at least three World Cups before his career is over.”
One of the many reasons cited for Pant’s exclusion was his inability of understanding situations and that he sometimes gets impatient. But Ponting thinks otherwise.
"I don't think he's impatient, he's a very smart player. He sums up conditions very well, he sums up situations in games very well as far as I'm concerned. But then they've got their reasons for not having him in the World Cup squad.
"I know what I know of him, he's a very talented and very determined player and I actually think that him missing out, you might see a different player in the back half of this IPL. His determination while shine through and I'm sure he'll score heavily in the back half of this tournament."
Meanwhile, Pant does have a slightest of chance of featuring in the World Cup given that he has been named one of the standbys – alongside Ambati Rayudu and Navdeep Saini – in India’s squad.
