Former Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has revealed the named of the Indian player who should have been picked in the World Cup squad. On 15 April, the Board of Control for Cricket in India had announced the World Cup squad of 15 players. The players like Ambati Rayudu and Rishabh Pant had missed out in the Indian squad.
Meanwhile, Saeed Ajmal believes Rishabh Pant should have been picked in India’s World Cup squad. Thus, the former spinner stated the Indian selectors have made a mistake of not picking the combative batsman in the World Cup squad.
Pant could not make the cut into India’s World Cup squad.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant has received limited opportunities in the white ball format. The southpaw batsman has thus far played five One Day Internationals in which he has scored only 93 runs. In fact, Pant has lacked the temperament to bat according to match situations. Furthermore, chief selector MSK Prasad had mentioned that Rishabh Pant had missed out on the World Cup squad because of his wicketkeeping skills.
On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik was given a green signal ahead of Rishabh Pant because of the experience. Moreover, Karthik had provided the finishing touches to the Indian team in the last two years.
“He has brought new life in the Indian team. Pant should have been picked as a batsman,” he said.
“India has a strong bench. Pant is a very good batsman. He has been batting very well in the IPL,” Ajmal said.
“He has brought new life in the Indian team. Pant should have been picked as a batsman. But the selectors must have spotted some weakness,” Ajmal said.
On the other hand, India has an impeccable record while playing in the World Cup event against Pakistan. India has beaten Pakistan on six occasions in the ODI showpiece. Ajmal believes Pakistan will need to play better cricket as India is a good side.
India has a great record against Pakistan.
“I will never talk about the past, always look at the future. Ok, Pakistan hasn’t beaten India before. They will need to put in extra effort as India are a very good team. Good luck to both teams,” he added.
Meanwhile, India is one of the favourites for the World Cup event as they have played quality cricket in the recent past. On the other hand, Pakistan is always a dark horse of the tournament. Pakistan will begin their World Cup campaign against Windies whereas India will take on South Africa in their first World Cup match.