Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting expressed his support for Abhishek Sharma ahead of the T20 World Cup. Ponting once coached Abhishek when he was just 17 years old and started playing for the Delhi Daredevils. Reflecting on their past, Ponting labeled Abhishek as a leading contender to be the tournament’s top scorer.
Abhishek is currently enjoying an impressive run. In the recent T20I series against New Zealand, he scored a remarkable 50 runs in just 14 balls during the third match, nearly breaking Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball record. Ponting has shared his high regard for Abhishek in an interview with the ICC Review.
Ponting also highlighted a potential advantage for Abhishek: his lack of experience in major tournaments. In the ICC Review, he stated,
“He’s a star. I think it’s (lack of experience) a real positive to be honest. He can be the leading run-scorer and potentially the Player of the Tournament.”
He further remarked,
“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 (T20) World Cup for India.”
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Abhishek made impact in Delhi on debut: Ricky Ponting
During the Indian Premier League, Ponting recalled his early days with the Delhi Daredevils, where Abhishek made a significant impression right from his debut. Ponting noted,
“I was his first IPL coach. He debuted with me as a 17-year-old in 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 a classical sort of straight bat and held the pose. And you could just see then that there was something extra special.”
Ponting mentioned that he urged the franchise to keep Abhishek, but he was eventually traded away.
“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 in this time.”
In the recent five-match T20I series against New Zealand, Abhishek scored a total of 182 runs, including two half-centuries. In the upcoming T20 World Cup, India is placed in Group A, set to face the USA, Namibia, Pakistan, and the Netherlands on February 7, 12, 15, and 18, respectively.
