Ganguly Hopeful with the Future of Young Wicketkeeper

The current 11th edition of the Indian Premier League has been the season of wicketkeepers with the likes of KL Rahul, Jos Buttler, MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, etc.

Cricket news: Only time will say how he matures and lifts up his game, says Sourav Ganguly

The former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, was impressed with the amount of talent present in the young wicket-keeping department in the country after witnessing the form of Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant.

Mumbai Indians’ wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan played a brilliant innings of 21-ball 62 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.

Rishabh Pant, who is the wicketkeeper of Delhi Daredevils, became the first Indian to score a century in this year’s IPL as he scored 63-ball 128 not out against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Ishan Kishan punishing the KKR bowlers

Ganguly, who came to a promotional event on Friday, is hopeful that both the young players have potential to make their way to the Indian senior national team.

“Time will come for the likes of Pant and Ishan. They are young and there’s no hurry. They will mature as they play more and more games and will go on to play for India in the years to come,” Ganguly said.

Pant’s innings reminded Ganguly of 73-ball 158 not out made by Brendon McCullum against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on the opening night of the inaugural IPL in 2008 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

“I had watched McCullum knock from the other end in the first ever game in IPL. Pant reminded me of that night. The way he batted was phenomenal,” he said.

Rishabh Pant after reaching the milestone

Ganguly certainly feels that both the young players have to wait for some time because of MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik.

“At present you cannot replace MS Dhoni. Then you have Dinesh Karthik who also deserves a chance in the national side, especially after what he did in Sri Lanka in the tri-nation final to win that game which India had all but lost. Dinesh deserves a chance more than anybody else because I think he is a very good player,” he remarked.

The former captain also stressed on the fact that it will be very important for the players to remain consistent.

“You have to remember that consistency is important,” he said. “It’s not just a one-off case. When you pick someone for the country you expect them to deliver consistently. How many times they keep doing that is important,” he stated.

When asked about the current Indian Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha’s poor form and it seemed he might be under some pressure, Ganguly said, “Yes, pressure will mount on him. But at the top level you have to handle it well. Saha needs to get some runs now.”