Ponting was unsure about Pant’s ability to return to the field after a horrific vehicular accident in December 2022. But considering how he has been performing since coming back to the game and his incredible patience, the DC head coach is certain that he will be the player to board the plane to New York by the end of the IPL. Ponting said this in an exclusive interview to PTI.
“I think we have seen Rishabh playing the same way in the IPL over the last five or six years, and now he is playing for India,” the Australian batsman said.
IPL: Mark sheet , orange cap , purple cap
Pant remains Ponting’s first choice, although he admitted that the Indian selectors have many options when selecting a keeper-batsman.
“One thing we know for sure is that there is a lot of depth in Indian cricket. With the keeper-batsmen, I think some guys are in really good form at the moment. (Ishan) Kishan is playing well. (Sanju) Samson is playing well and KL Rahul is playing well.
“There are a lot of options but if I was picking a team, I would have Rishabh Pant in it every day of the week,” the ‘punter’ made his call.
Ponting and Pant share a special bond that has grown since his appointment as the DC coach, and he gets a little emotional when he sees Pant performing at his best once again.
“Rishabh’s return to international cricket has been nothing short of remarkable. I spent a lot of time with him during the last IPL and a lot of us were really skeptical about whether he would actually play the game again, It was such a terrible accident and I talked to him about it, I wasn’t sure if he would play again.”
But like all champions, Pant refused to accept defeat.
“There was never any doubt in his mind that he would play again. As each game passes, we are starting to see a better and better version of Rishabh Pant, his batting has made more of an impact than in the last few matches. Have inserted.” Right from the start of the tournament, he is starting to move well behind the stumps,” the coach was delighted.
‘Ricky Bhui and the difference between Ranji Trophy and IPL’
Delhi Capitals They have often faced criticism for their domestic scouting practices as most of their uncapped players have not been able to light up the stage. An example is Ricky Bhui, who scored an incredible 902 runs in the Ranji Trophy, but the Andhra captain looked to be a work in progress during the IPL.
When asked, Ponting attempted to justify the scouting process. However, he provided some perspective by discussing the wide disparity and difficulty of untapped local talent suddenly rising to the international standards of the IPL.
“What you said about Ricky Bhui is a perfect example of that. He’s had a fantastic season, every time he’s batted in the nets last month he’s looked incredible, but when he comes up against Nandre Berger he’s looked better than ever before. I had never seen such fast bowling.” Ponting said, “I have never faced anyone who can bowl 140 km per hour and bowl an accurate bouncer the very next ball, you certainly feel that way for the players, but “I don’t think we did anything wrong recruiting-wise.”
For Ponting, one of the big problems was the absence of Harry Brook, the number one pick in his auction.
“You have to remember, our No. 1 pick Harry Brook had decided not to come. We were a bit unsure how much we would get out of Rishabh if he played at all, let alone keeping and batting.
“Part of our strategy was to find the second keeper batsman, which we did with acumen,” he said.
He argued, “Definitely, a big part of scouting is to identify guys who can take the next step, and that too very quickly because it is a big step from playing domestic cricket in India to playing IPL.”
‘Impact of changing opening pattern in T20 on batsmen’
Virat Kohli scored an IPL century in 67 balls this season, MI’s Rohit Sharma completed his century in 61 balls, while Travis Head needed only 39 balls to reach the milestone.
Is a century in 60 balls by an opening batsman in T20 slowly becoming a thing of the past? Ponting gave a practical explanation.
“It is not necessary that you have to score 100 runs in 40 balls (every time). It also depends on the scoring rate of other batsmen around you. It is not good to score 100 runs in 60 balls if the player at the other end also Be scoring at 100 strike-rate, and then you will often end up with 180 (MI 186/6 vs CSK),” Ponting said.
“Like Travis Head last night, he’s becoming a very good white-ball player, but if you don’t have that eighth batsman who comes in as an impact player, I don’t know if teams will be as aggressive as they are.” It’s close,” Ponting concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
