Ponting picks T20 World Cup finalists… and the winner
Ponting picks T20 World Cup finalists : Ricky Ponting, a captain who has won the World Cup twice, has revealed which two teams he believes will make it to the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia later this year, as well as which side he anticipates will take home the title.
Ponting has been exposed to a significant amount of Twenty20 cricket in recent years as a result of his roles as an assistant coach for the Australian team under Justin Langer, head coach of the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League for the past five years, and commentator for Big Bash League matches.
He has now expressed his thoughts on the 2018 Twenty20 World Cup with host Sanjana Ganesan on the most recent episode of The ICC Review. Having observed and evaluated the top players from around the world up close and personal, he is now in a position to do so.
Who will take home the much-sought trophy?
Ponting, who is now 47 years old, is confident in the teams that he believes have the best chance of winning big ICC trophies in Australia, despite the fact that he acknowledges that winning a major ICC title requires a certain amount of luck.
Ponting predicted that Australia will triumph over India in the championship match, stating, “I think India and Australia will be the two playing in the final and I will just have to say that Australia will win them in the final.”
“The fact that the reigning champions will be playing in their own stadium will be one of the factors that made Australia’s victory in the previous World Cup, while not particularly extraordinary, a little bit sweeter for them.”
“The fact that many people, including myself, thought that when they went to UAE, the conditions that they were going to have to face on the back of the IPL, I thought that the conditions might have been the thing that might not have allowed them to win it, despite the fact that I was one of those people.”
If this is the case, then who poses the greatest threat to Australia and India?
Ponting has been a supporter of Brendon McCullum for a long time, and he is really pleased with what the bold New Zealander has accomplished so far during his spell as captain of the team throughout the recent Test series.
Given Matthew Mott’s stellar track record with Australia’s women’s team, he is aware of how capable he is as the new coach of England’s white-ball side.
Ponting stated that he believes England to be an outstanding white-ball team and that they have an outstanding white-ball setup. “I honestly think England are an outstanding white-ball team,”
India, Australia, and England are, in my opinion, the three teams who appear to have the greatest class and the most match-winners based just on the paper.
What about the country of Pakistan?
Waqar Younis, a legend of Pakistan cricket, recently stated that his former team had a very good chance of winning the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia, but Ricky Ponting is not as confident in that statement.
Ponting believes that the batting line-up is excessively dependent on the team’s skipper and top-ranked batter, Babar Azam, despite the fact that he recognises the talent of star bowler Shaheen Afridi and the dexterity of Mohammad Rizwan at the top of the order.
Ponting was quoted as saying, “I don’t think they have a chance to win if Babar doesn’t have a terrific tournament.”
“I got to see him up close and personal a couple of years ago out here in a Test series against Australia, and at the time, I said that I thought the sky was the limit for this guy as far as Test match batting (was concerned), and, if anything, he’s probably gotten better and better in the last couple of years. I saw him out here in Australia in a Test series against Australia.
“Their openers are very vital and their new-ball bowlers are very crucial,” but “the role of the spin bowler in Australia might be a little bit more challenging with wickets that probably won’t give them assistance,” he said. “Their new-ball bowlers are really important.”
What about the other teams in the competition?
Ponting provides a few other teams with a glimmer of hope that they might be able to ride their good fortune all the way to victory, or at the very least, make it to the championship match at the MCG on November 13.
“I have a good understanding of the game, and any team from New Zealand, Pakistan, or even the West Indies – we are aware of how much these teams tend to enjoy playing cricket, and we believe that the Twenty20 format is most suited to their abilities.
“It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if any of those teams made it all the way to the championship game.”