Legendary Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting has picked Rishabh Pant as India’s leading run-scorer in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Pant has been in excellent batting form since his return from the life-threatening accident.
While there were plenty of options like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal to choose from, Ponting picked Pant as India’s best batsman in the series. The wicketkeeper-batsman was the leading run-scorer in the New Zealand Test series, where he scored 261 runs in three Tests.
But the form of other batsmen is a big cause for concern. Apart from Rishabh Pant, no other batsman scores runs consistently and India paid the price for it against New Zealand. Senior batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also had a forgettable home Test season.
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Ricky Ponting picks Rishabh Pant to score most runs for India in BGT 2024-25
While speaking to ICC, Ricky Ponting chose the best candidates from Australia and India. Ponting picked Steve Smith as Australia’s best run-getter and Rishabh Pant as India’s best run-getter.
“Leading run scorer, I’m going to pick Steve Smith or Rishabh Pant,” the former Australia captain said.
“With Rishabh back in the side and probably coming in to bat in the middle order when the ball has probably lost a bit of its shine and a bit of its toughness and the form he’s in, I’ll go for him as one of the leaders. . run scorers too,” he added.
Ricky Ponting worked with Rishabh Pant at Delhi Capitals during the Indian Premier League and knows him well. The former Australian batsman has been impressed with Pant before and rates him highly.
Rishabh Pant’s recent form
Steve Smith has returned to his number 4 position after finishing his trial in the starting role. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant has been in great form over the last few months. He scored 161 runs in two Tests against Bangladesh at an average of 53.66.
The wicketkeeper-batsman did not stop here and later put in an excellent performance against New Zealand. Pant scored 261 runs in three Tests against New Zealand at an average of 43.50. He scored three half-centuries in the series, and two of them came in the last Test in Mumbai, where batting was extremely difficult.
Ricky Ponting predicts the winner of BGT 2024-25
When asked about making a prediction for the series, Ricky Ponting stated that Australia will win the series 3-1. He had previously predicted Australia would win the series by the same margin and believes the result will not change.
“I think India will win a Test match at some point in the five Test matches. But I still think Australia now probably look a little more settled, a little more experienced and we know they are a very difficult team to beat at home. So I’m going with 3-1 (prediction),” said Ponting.
The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 will be played in Perth from November 22. The series consists of five tests and will be crucial for both teams as they look to cement their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. next year.