Pant will play for India for next 15 years, says Ganguly

World Cup snub could surely be disappointing but 21-year-old Rishabh Pant will play "many more World Cups" and don the national colours for at least 15 years, said former skipper Sourav Ganguly.

The 21-year-old Pant was pipped by veteran Dinesh Karthik as the second-choice wicketkeeper in the World Cup squad.

"Dhoni will not play on forever. DK will also not play on forever. Rishabh is the next best. Pant is the future absolutely," Ganguly told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of Zee Bangla's U-19 Football League.

"He's got 15-16 years ahead of him. I don't see it as a major blow. I don't think it's a problem. He might miss this World Cup but he will play many more World Cups. This is not the end of road for him."
"Maybe I would have (picked Pant as a selector). But I think Dinesh Karthik is also very good... I think it's a good team, they picked themselves. I don't think many missed out. Rishabh would have been great but that's the way it goes."
Ganguly also posted the picture on his official Twitter handle with a caption: "Rishabh pant @RishabPant777 @ParthJindal11 u deserve this.. u r wow."
"I can help him because he's a left-hander. During a tournament, you can't talk much about skills, you just tell them how to bat in most situations. Dhawan's record in one-day cricket is as good as anybody in India. So the talent was always there. When he played for SRH, he had a fantastic record. He's just a good player."
"KKR have won twice. We have not won even once. I don't think it's the right question."