Ricky Ponting is rarely shy with an opinion, and he’s gone in firmly on Abhishek Sharma. The former Australia captain, now an IPL coach and pundit, reckons the 25-year-old opener could finish the upcoming T20 World Cup as its leading run-scorer – perhaps even the Player of the Tournament.
“I was his first IPL coach,” Ponting said on the ICC review. “He debuted with me, I think as a 17-year-old at Delhi and made an immediate impact. I think he hit his first ball for four or six straight back over the bowler’s head with that classical sort of straight bat and held the pose. And you could just see then as a 17-year-old that there was something extra special.”
The back-story is instructive. Abhishek burst onto the scene with a 19-ball 46 not out for Delhi Capitals back in 2018 but, after only two further innings, he was traded to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Ponting remains mildly frustrated: “We ended up trading him away from Delhi, but I pleaded and pleaded and pleaded and said, please don’t do this. We’ve got to [keep him], there’s an absolute superstar in the making here. And that’s what it’s turned out to be. I’ve got really high hopes for him this time.”
Since that move the left-hander has piled on 1,753 IPL runs at a strike rate nudging 162 – forceful without being reckless. The international numbers are even sharper. Since debuting for India in July 2024 he’s rattled up 1,297 runs in 37 T20I innings, averaging a shade over 37 while scoring at 195 runs per 100 balls. Two hundreds, eight fifties, and that 14-ball half-century against New Zealand last week – India’s second-quickest in the format – have done his confidence no harm.
Ponting believes that fearlessness will translate smoothly to a first ICC event: “[It’s] a real positive to be honest. He can be the leading run-scorer and potentially the Player of the Tournament. That’s how good I think he is. And if he does, that makes India even harder to beat. If he doesn’t, then they’re as vulnerable as anybody else. So that’s how important I think he is to this World Cup for India.”
India, the defending champions, open their campaign on 7 February in Mumbai against tournament outsiders USA. The top order looks settled enough, yet there remains the broader question of balance – a long late-order and varied bowling options could matter once the Super Eight stage bites.
Former India batter and analyst Aakash Chopra flagged similar themes this week: depth, match-ups, avoiding the lull between overs seven and ten. In short, if Abhishek gives them platform after platform, Rohit Sharma’s side should glide out of Group A; if he doesn’t, well, pressure has a knack of finding even the best-resourced teams.
Either way the story of India’s World Cup defence might start with a player Ponting once tried – unsuccessfully – to keep in Delhi’s dressing room.
