The former Australian captain has released an interesting list of qualities of South African all-rounder Marco Johnson, whom he has observed closely during his time with Punjab Kings in the IPL. However, Ponting also points out that Jensen is still poor at his game as he has not realized his full potential despite his unique skills.
It is very rare to find the combination of a left-arm fast bowling all-rounder, and to find one of Marco Johnson’s quality is truly special for South Africa. He is currently one of the two most highly rated all-rounders in the world along with India’s Hardik Pandya.
The 25-year-old fast bowler made his debut for South Africa against India in all three formats of the game. Jensen is a fast bowling all-rounder, being a regular part of the playing eleven for all three formats. He has troubled the batsmen across all formats, taking 89, 49 and 33 wickets in Test, ODI and T20I respectively.
Ricky Ponting’s latest opinion on Marco Janson, “I don’t think he understands his game as well as he should.”
While talking about the rising star of South African cricket, one of the greatest minds in world cricket, Ricky Ponting has made an obvious but meaningful comment. The former Australian master coach has put him under his wing for Punjab Kings in the IPL.
Ponting made a good investment along with Marco Jansen in the mega auction when he was bought by Punjab Kings for just Rs 7 crore. He will bring with him some promising performances in the coming years and his dynamic skills with both bat and ball.
“I was so keen to buy Marco (Jansson) in the mega-auction last year because I still thought he had a lot to come as a player,” Ponting said.
“Still very young, I don’t think he probably understands his game as well as he should. He’s still learning every day, but he’s got so much skill,” Ponting bluntly commented that Jensen seemed like a goofy kid but he has a lot of potential.
Ponting praises Marco Johnson’s unique all-round skills
Despite being called a developing cricketer who is learning and improving every day, Marco Jansen is also credited with possessing every inch of the skills that make him the ideal player for the shortest format of today’s game.
Ponting bragged, “What skill he has; with the new ball, with the old ball, and his catching hands are as good as you will see. And his lower-order batting can be disastrous at times. So, he is a big part of their success now.”
Although Marco’s performance with the bat was not that good and he scored only 75 runs in 14 matches, he made his presence felt with the ball. Having taken 16 wickets, he will be key to PBKS’ campaign in the upcoming season as well.
Marco Johnson has been South Africa’s best player in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026
The South African has been one of their most outstanding performers in recent times. Especially with the ball, Jensen has been surprisingly unbeatable on India’s non-pace-friendly tracks. Marco Johnson, who took 22 wickets in the World Cup, has once again had an extraordinary tournament so far in India.
Like Janson’s Test tour in India, followed by a white-ball series where he was South Africa’s most successful asset among fast bowlers, Janson has taken 11 wickets in four World Cup matches in 2026. Four wickets were taken twice in the last two matches against New Zealand and India.
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