The men in blue are roaring to make commence their Asia Cup campaign against Hong Kong on Tuesday. The tournament is crucial for them in order to get their combination right, especially a settled middle-order ahead of the World Cup. However, the former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly is surprised with the exclusion of Rishabh Pant from the squad who had an impressive outing in England.

Pant made his Test debut in the third Test against England following Dinesh Karthik’s failure and got off the mark with a flamboyant six off Adil Rashid only on his second ball. After struggling to make a mark in the next couple of innings, he signed off the series with a memorable century in the final Test when the team was chasing an improbable target of 464. He played an aggressive knock and proved that he is ready to play for India in ODIs as well. 

Sourav Ganguly understood the fact the selectors had picked the squad for the Asia Cup before Pant scored a century and until then he had fared pretty poorly to stake his claim. Though Sourav feels that the 20-year-old is ready to make a mark for himself and should be given an opportunity ahead of the mega event next year.

ALSO READ:  Sourav Ganguly Picks his Favorite Team for Asia Cup

In his column for Times of India, Dada wrote, “I am surprised to see no Pant in the squad. The Asia Cup squad was selected before his Oval hundred and the way he batted in his last innings, I am sure he is ready for the ODI format as well.”

Ganguly also opined that the Asia Cup will also be an important tournament for MS Dhoni, who didn’t have a memorable outing in the ODI series against England, as he was even booed at the iconic Lord’s. 

Talking about the same, Sourav added, “It will be an important series for Dhoni. It seemed like he had lost his way in the ODIs in England and it will be important for him to show the selectors that he still has it in him to keep the scoreboard moving at a good pace. There’s been a lot of talk about him getting stuck in ODI cricket and it will be important for him to reignite his hitting skills.”