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Punter, Sourav Ganguly back Rishabh Pant as India No. 4

While Ponting says Delhi youngster will add X-factor to Kohli & Co in World Cup, Ganguly believes southpaw can excel batting higher

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Despite Team India captain Virat Kohli sounding confident about having figured out his playing XI for the upcoming ICC World Cup in England even after losing the ODI series to Australia, the debate over the No. 4 batting slot refuses to die.

And, who better to debate on the topic than Sourav Ganguly, one of India's best skippers. Ganguly's choices, though, are extreme.

"There are lots of choices for the No. 4 position. I have been calling for Cheteshwar Pujara as he has been in good form. I have seen Rahul Dravid playing successfully in the ODI format at No. 4 and 5. This, because Dravid was given a clear role. If you have an option of a batsman in form and scoring runs, then Pujara can be a good option," Ganguly, who has been appointed as advisor to IPL team Delhi Capitals, said here on Tuesday.

The former India captain, however, also threw his weight behind a member of his new franchise — Rishabh Pant. "For me, Rishabh is the future," Ganguly said. "He is a hard worker and will be a huge asset for the country in the years to come. For the next 10 years, you will see him playing all formats of the game and scoring runs."

Pant had a great start to his Test career, becoming the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in Australia. Even in the last IPL season, he was the second highest run scorer for the Delhi franchise.

"Anybody who wants to succeed in shorter formats of the game, he has to go up in the batting order. If you send Pant at No. 4, he has so much time to play his shots and thus can score runs," Ganguly said.

"The problem with him (Pant) in shorter formats is that he doesn't get regular cricket because you have a champion in MS Dhoni who actually plays most of the shorter formats. So, Rishabh is coming in and going out all the time and that's never good for anybody, however quality a player you are.

"In his short career he has been remarkable for India and once he starts getting opportunity consistently, he will be a top player," he added.

Pant has two centuries from nine Tests at an average of 49.71. He averages 23.25 in ODIs and 19.41 in T20Is.

Delhi Capitals' coach and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting also has a liking for Pant ahead of others in the competition for Team India's No. 4 position.

"Pant is the sort of guy who has the X-factor and can win a Cup for you. If I am a captain, I would play him as a pure batsman," Ponting said, referring to MS Dhoni as the first-choice wicket-keeper in the squad.

However, Ganguly believes that Kohli must have finalised his choice for the said position by now.

"When I look at it, I think Virat Kohli already knows his No. 4 batsman for the World Cup. This series (against Australia), the skipper tried lot of options. He gave others an opportunity to see if he can find anyone different. That's how Vijay Shankar and Pant were tried at No. 4," Ganguly said.


Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting (Left) and advisor Sourav Ganguly share a laugh during a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday — AFP

BURNOUT ISSUE

Meanwhile, Ganguly feels that not playing in the IPL before the World Cup is not the ideal way to address the workload issue for any Team India player.

The World Cup in England immediately follows the upcoming IPL season, raising concerns about injuries and burnout to a World Cup-bound player.

"Not playing in IPL is certainly not the answer. Lot of them have been playing for over 15 years and still look fresh. I don't think anyone should worry about being fatigued. The respective cricket boards should leave it to the players to take a call on this issue," he said.

Ganguly also endorsed the views of Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar who both felt it should be left to an individual player.

"There is no hard and fast rule. It should be left to the players to take a call on how much workload they should take during IPL. And in any case, where is the guarantee that you will not get injured while playing for the country?" Ganguly said.

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