Australian great Ricky Ponting yesterday expressed surprise at Rishabh Pant's exclusion from India's World Cup squad, saying he could have been the X factor in the playing eleven.

Ponting met Pant on Monday night, hours after the India squad was announced with Dinesh Karthik being preferred over thePant, 21, for the reserve wicketkeeper's slot. "Yes I was surprised when he was left out of the Indian squad. I thought he would be in and he would be in the starting eleven.