Rishabh Pant is key to India's success at T20 World Cup: Madan Lal

As Team India prepares for the upcoming T20 World Cup, former Indian cricketer Madan Lal has identified Rishabh Pant as a potential game-changer for the national squad. This insight comes after the BCCI announced the 15-member team set to compete in the prestigious tournament scheduled to be held in the West Indies and the USA starting June 2.

Madan Lal, a World Cup winner himself, shared his views in an exclusive interview with TOI. He expressed high expectations for Pant, who is making a notable comeback to international cricket following a serious accident in December 2022 that nearly ended his career. "In a word, it (Pant's comeback) is superb. If India wants to win (the T20 World Cup), he needs to perform well. It is as simple as that. He is a class act. At the moment, he is one of the top batsmen in the world. It depends on him, what position the team gives him, and how they use him," Lal remarked.

Rishabh Pant's journey back to the cricket field has been nothing short of dramatic. After overcoming life-threatening injuries from his accident, Pant returned to lead the Delhi Capitals in the current IPL season. His performance has been nothing less than stellar. To date, Pant has racked up 398 runs in 11 innings, boasting an impressive strike rate of 158.57. His prowess is not limited to batting; behind the stumps, he has been equally effective, securing 11 catches and making 3 stumpings.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj

Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan