The Indian squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 came as a major heartbreak for young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant. The 21-year-old was left out of the 15-man list, who will be traveling to England and Wales in the month of May.
Despite decent performances against the mighty Aussies, Pant lost his spot to Dinesh Karthik, who has also been responsible with the bat. The choice also led to the selectors voicing their divided opinions over the matter. However, according to Chairman of Selectors, MSK Prasad, Karthik got the nod over Pant because of his superior abilities behind the stumps.
“We debated at length whether to pick Pant or DK (Dinesh Karthik). We felt that either of them would only come into the XI if Mahi (Dhoni) is injured. We felt that if it is a big game like semifinal or final, keeping ability also matters. Pant was almost there.”
The other notable omission was that of middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu, who has been instrumental in his performances. Astonishingly, the BCCI chose to bring back Ravindra Jadeja into the team considering the player’s ability as an all-rounder.
BREAKING: India have named their #CWC19 squad! pic.twitter.com/mMXt5kAG6Y
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) April 15, 2019
But it was Rishabh Pant’s exclusion from Virat Kohli’s brigade which became a topic of some hilarious memes on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/BollywoodGandu/status/1117728825297608704
Rishabh Pant looking at the world Cup Squad 😒 pic.twitter.com/KQsRFf4aw7
— Muthu Kumar (@Muthu_Kumar07) April 15, 2019
Condition of #RishabhPant & #Ambatirayudu after announcement of world Cup squad.
Bahut Taklif#CWC19 pic.twitter.com/MD6dXyBLmm— Amit Wakodkar (@AmitWakodkar) April 15, 2019
Virat to Rishabh Pant #WC2019Squad pic.twitter.com/cKsj3qN8Uc
— D J 🎧 (@djaywalebabu) April 15, 2019
Rishabh Pant right now #WC2019Squad pic.twitter.com/EmGVqwXbt7
— D J 🎧 (@djaywalebabu) April 15, 2019
Rishabh Pant tried hard but… #TeamIndia #worldcup2019 pic.twitter.com/kobcaFSRss
— Arun LoL ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ ︎ (@dhaikilokatweet) April 15, 2019
Rishabh Pant looking at India’s #CWC2019 squad announcement pic.twitter.com/Dk8WOTn0xV
— The-Lying-Lama 2.0 (@KyaUkhaadLega) April 15, 2019
Rishabh pant to DK after world cup team selection#BCCI#WorldCupSquad pic.twitter.com/zMX0dwYfgc
— Mr. Bauva (@BadmashBauva) April 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/Original_Namo/status/1117731382120210433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1117731382120210433&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news18.com%2Fnews%2Fbuzz%2Frishabh-pants-omission-from-the-world-cup-squad-triggers-a-meme-fest-on-twitter-2105077.html
#worldcupsquad #WorldCup2019
*BCCI selects Dinesh Kartik Over Rishabh Pant*
Rishabh Pant to BCCI- pic.twitter.com/D9XVTArpmU— N I T I N (@theNitinWalke) April 15, 2019
#worldcupsquad
BCCI to Rishabh Pant : pic.twitter.com/18JC0igi4L— thoughtsbyaashish (@t_b_aashish) April 16, 2019
#RishabhPant 's reason for not getting selected in #WC2019Squad pic.twitter.com/6C7z0OZvbz
— Jagpreet Singh (@Jagpreet1484) April 16, 2019
Jokes apart, you got to feel sad for the confident youngster who saw a massive rise in his career in the past few months. But don’t worry lad, you have a long way to go!