Ponting surprised over Pant's exclusion

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is surprised that Rishabh Pant was not included in India's 15-member squad for the forthcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's Cricket World Cup.

"I was surprised when he was left out of the squad. I thought he'll be in and I thought he'll actually play in the starting eleven. I thought that someone like him batting at No. 4 or 5 in their side would have just been that sort of player who could have had that X-factor about him that could have been the difference between India and some other teams in the World Cup," ICC quoted Ponting as saying.

Ponting further added that he will be surprised if Pant does not play at least three World Cups before he concludes his career.

"One thing that we know about Indian cricket is that there is a lot of depth around, particularly around the batting side. Unfortunately, this time, Rishabh is the one that has missed out, but as I said, I think knowing what he's like and the talent he's got, I'll be surprised if he doesn't play at least three World Cups before his career is over," he said.

Currently, the 44-year old is the coach of Delhi Capitals and has praised Pant numerous times.

Dinesh Karthik was picked up instead of Pant because of his wicket-keeping skills. However, teams are allowed to make changes to the squad until May 23 while the quadrennial extravaganza is set to commence on May 30.