Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has come out in support of Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya and stressed that Rishabh Pant is making a case to be picked for the T20 World Cup.

Hardik has been booed in all of Mumbai Indians’ three matches so far following him being handed over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma.

“I don’t think they should boo Hardik Pandya. It’s not correct,” the Delhi Capitals director of cricket said in Mumbai on Saturday.

“It’s not correct. The franchisee has appointed him as captain. That’s what happens in sport. Whether you captain India or you captain a state or whether you captain your franchise, you are appointed as captain.

“He’s (been) appointed captain. Obviously, Rohit Sharma he’s a different class. His performance for this franchise, his performance for India has been at a different level as captain and as a player,” Sourav said.

“But then it’s not Hardik’s fault that he’s been appointed as captain. All of us need to understand that,” he added.

Mumbai Indians will take on Delhi Capitals on Sunday at the Wankhede.

While stressing that Pant is “fully fit”, Sourav added that the wicketkeeper-batter should be given some more time to prepare himself for a comeback into the national side.

Making a comeback to competitive cricket after nearly 15 months following a car accident, Delhi Capitals captain Pant has tallied 152 runs in four innings, at a strike rate of over 158.

“I will let a few more matches go. He is doing very well, as you all must have seen, keeping, batting, so he has held up well,” Sourav said.

“His form is fantastic, especially the way he has batted in the last two games. So let another week go, and I will be able to answer, provided the selectors want to pick him... that is most important. He is fully fit.”

Sourav also said that he was satisfied with the team’s bowling despite the three losses from four matches so far this season.

“We have used the bowling part of it well in terms of Mukesh (Kumar), who’s
developed under Delhi Capitals, Khaleel (Ahmed) and Ishant (Sharma).

“Prithvi Shaw... he’s come back into good form this season. Obviously, Rishabh is a domestic Indian talent. Abhishek Porel has started out well this season. We need to find one more batsman who can do it.”

Youngsters like Ricky Bhui and Kumar Kushagra could get opportunities as the tournament progresses, he said.