Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of India, has given ‘huge’ hopes to Rishabh Pant by predicting him to be the wicket to Australian players. He called him the next best test batter after Indian great Virat Kohli.
This will be India’s last opportunity to compete for the finals of the World Test Championship for the third consecutive time when they meet Australia for the first test on Friday.
It is obvious that Kohli needs to pick himself up for the team in the series decider including missing the captain Rohit Sharma who is on paternity leave and Shubman Gill due to injury. A good performer against WTC defending champions Considering his outstanding performance against them in recent years, all eyes must focus on Rishabh Pant.
This aggressive outburst from Pant does come at some risk but it does allow him to enjoy a certain level of success, especially when facing Australia.
On the last day of the 4th Test in Brisbane, a Chennai Super Kings player turned around a Test match for the Indian team single-handedly.
Ganguly, during his stint at Delhi Capital has claimed that Pant is a ‘generational talent’ and has backed him to shine in the high-profile five-test series.
Ganguly again described the player saying, “He is a special player. He still needs to evolve and figure out his game in white-ball cricket. But in the red ball, he is just fantastic.”
“He is a generational red-ball cricketer, and it is evident from the innings that he played in England, Australia, and South Africa. He is India’s second best test match batsman after Kohli, and he can be very useful in the series!”
Pant demonstrated his propensity to score runs during the Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand earlier this year. Although showing form, Pant managed to score 422 runs from five matches with an average of 46.88 at an astonishing strike rate of 86.47.
The batsman who entertained everyone in the first Test match of the series was none other than Pant who came in at a rather dismal situation for India in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. He lifted spirits with a remarkable 99, with Sarfaraz Khan also doing well at the other end scoring 150 runs.
That was also the only fruitful partnership that many Indian spectators witnessed in the Indian’s innings suffering a humiliating 3-nil loss in the series against New Zealand.
Meanwhile, also, in this context, Ganguly came out in support of Sarfaraz as well.
To the questions regarding Sarfaraz’s ability to handle the Australian conditions, Ganguly seconded the view that it is very easy to sit and criticize while it is completely difficult to try out for opportunities available.
‘’You have to give him a chance to know. How can you say anything without giving him an opportunity? Let him fail first,’’ he quipped.
“So, here’s the thing, you have to take a cool-headed and logical view. Pant has earned his place in the squad and deserves the opportunity. It’s not a privilege that someone has graciously bestowed upon him. So, for heaven’s sake, don’t dismiss him before you’ve even seen him in action.”
“In such an event, you will be in a position to comment on the querist. Let me be very crystal clear – you need to provide him a chance and then you can see for yourself whether he is really that good or bad. Otherwise, do not condemn him.”
As thenewsofbharat.com states, Ganguly said, ‘I have always kept saying – you need to give opportunities to players in different conditions and only then can you judge them rather than making assumptions about them’