Ricky Ponting believes Rishabh Pant will be back in the Indian starting XI very soon

Australian cricket great Ricky Ponting believes Rishabh Pant’s natural talent and his match-winning abilities will ensure that he’s back in the Indian starting eleven sooner rather than later.

Ponting, who in tandem with Pant helped the Delhi Capitals reach their first-ever playoffs in the IPL last year, replied to a user on Twitter who asked the legendary Australian captain his thoughts on what the future holds for 22-year-old Pant.

In response, Ponting backed Pant, stating that the youngster is way too talented to stay out of the Indian team for long and that he’ll be back in the conversation for a starting spot very soon.

“Rishabh Pant is a young man with a huge amount of talent. I’m looking forward to working with him again during the IPL and I’m sure he’ll be back in the Indian team sooner rather than later,” Ponting said.

Pant suffered from a concussion in the first ODI against Australia in Mumbai, and KL Rahul was entrusted with wicket-keeping duties in the former’s absence. Rahul’s contributions with the bat and his nifty glovework behind the stumps have ensured that he keeps his place in the team for the foreseeable future.

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Skipper Virat Kohli and the team management’s endorsement aside, this seems like a very logical decision, considering how Pant has fluffed a plethora of chances to cement his spot in the playing eleven, courtesy his inconsistency with the bat and shoddy work behind the wickets.

Rahul, on the other hand, has been in imperious form with the bat and has impressed whilst keeping wickets as well.