Rishabh Pant deserves to be in India's T20 World Cup squad: DC head coach Ricky Ponting during IPL 2024

Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting has full faith that skipper Rishabh Pant will be India's wicketkeeper in the T20 World Cup 2024 set to be played in the West Indies and the USA in June.

Pant made a remarkable recovery to competitive cricket from a horrific car accident in December 2022 and has already had some impactful performances for the Capitals with the bat. However, Ponting believes by the end of IPL 2024, Pant will have reached his peak performance.

Speaking to PTI, here's what Ricky Ponting said about Rishabh Pant's chances in the T20 World Cup:

"Do I believe whether Rishabh should be there in the World Cup squad? Absolutely I do. He deserves to be in that WT20 squad by the end of the IPL, I think we have seen Rishabh play the way we have seen him play in last six seasons of IPL and now back playing for India. If I was picking a team, I would have Rishabh Pant in it every day of the week."

Ponting understands that Pant faces competition, with the likes of Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, and KL Rahul in the mix. However, he believes the DC captain can be at his best for India with more game time throughout IPL 2024.

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Ricky Ponting on his conversation with Rishabh Pant last year

Ricky Ponting accepted that he had doubts about whether Rishabh Pant would ever play competitive cricket again after his car accident. He shed light on his conversation with Pant last year when the latter was around the DC camp.

On this, Ponting stated:

"A lot of us were skeptical about whether he will play the game again. But he was sure all the way through. He said, 'Look I am sure I will be back again.' He was always confident of playing this IPL."

In six matches so far in IPL 2024, Pant has 194 runs at an impressive average of 32.33 and a strike rate of 157.72.