Amid criticism, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has come out in support of young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant and urged people to be patient with him.
The youngster has been facing significant criticism from all quarters for his recent dismal show with the bat especially in the limited-overs game and his careless shot selection.
Following another poor outing in Mohali, India’s head coach Ravi Shastri and batting coach Vikram Rathore have also expressed their views on Pant’s recent form, and now he is under the scanner and his one more dismal show may have them drop him from national white-ball squad.
Read Also: Rishabh Pant's recent dismal form is really alarming, feels Virat Kohli’s coach Rajkumar Sharma
However, Ganguly believes that the 21-year-old will be the X-factor for India in the future while urging the social media and critics to be patient and see how the left-hander develops into a match-winner.
As per reports in Cricbuzz, Ganguly said: “I think India is strong. India is strong and powerful. I wouldn’t go back to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the X-factors because they are the X-factor players. Rohit Sharma’s performance in the World Cup was unreal, five World Cup hundreds. Although India lost in the semi-finals, India played well in the World Cup. I think when you talk about X-factors and you talk about future players, Rishabh Pant will be the one to watch.”
Read Also: KL Rahul's place in India's limited overs team in danger, feels Sourav Ganguly
He further added, “Just be patient with him. I see the country goes up and down every time he gets dismissed. Every time Pant hits a ball in the air, Twitter goes berserk. ‘When will he learn to build an innings’ and all that. But if you want to have a match-winner, you have to set him free.”
Ganguly signed off by saying, “You will have people who will defend, who will prod, who will rotate and India has a lot of them. Shikhar Dhawan can do that, Virat Kohli himself can do that, but you need the likes of Pant and Pandya to bring the X-factor. To bring the explosive thing, the game-changing thing that you need to win matches. I think Pant will be a huge force in Indian cricket.”
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
