The countdown for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 has started, with all the teams now getting ready for the premier cricket competition. Before the tournament, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has given his verdict on the possible Player of the Tournament. Ricky Ponting believes that India’s opener Abhishek Sharma Can be the leading run-getter in the competition and also win the Player of the Tournament award.
In the last major competition, which was the Asia Cup 2025, he won the Player of the Tournament award for his exceptional performance in the biennial tournament. This explosive left-handed opener scored 314 runs in seven innings at an average of 44.85 and a strike rate of 200.00. So far, in 38 T20Is the left-handed batsman has scored 1,297 runs at an average of over 37 and a blistering strike rate of 195.
Ricky Ponting reflects on Abhishek Sharma’s early IPL days
Speaking to the ICC a week ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, Ricky Ponting said, “He’s a star. I think it (lack of experience) is a real positive thing, to be honest. He can be the leading run-scorer and potentially the player of the tournament. I think that’s how good he is. And if he does that, it makes India even more difficult to beat. If he doesn’t, they’re just like anyone else.” Weak. That’s why I think it’s so important he is in this (T20) World Cup.”
Ricky Ponting also remembered Abhishek’s early days in the Indian Premier League (IPL), when Abhishek was a part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) setup. Abhishek Sharma made his IPL debut with the Capitals in 2018, playing three games under the Australian head coach.
According to Ricky Ponting (via the above source), “I was his first IPL coach. I think he debuted with me in Delhi at the age of 17 and made an instant impact. I think he hit a four or a six straight over the bowler’s head with his very first ball and kept the pose. And you could see at the age of 17 that there was something extra special.”
‘We finished him off by taking him away from Delhi’- Ponting
Ricky Ponting was the first to recognize his talent in the IPL and asked the franchise not to sell him but to retain him in DC. However, the franchise failed to do so.
Ponting further said, “We took him away from Delhi, but I begged and begged and pleaded and said, please don’t do it. We have to (keep him), he is becoming an absolute superstar here. And that’s what happened. I have high expectations from him at the moment.”
Abhishek Sharma sets new opening trend for Sunrisers Hyderabad
Abhishek Sharma, after his one season with DC in 2018, joined Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and never looked back.
Despite a poor performance in the 2021 season, he has scored more than 400 runs in the last four editions of the league. He was excellent along with his starting partner Travis Head in the 2024 season, when the Orange Army qualified for the finals, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Also read: Matt Henry exposes Abhishek Sharma’s weakness: “He has been playing brilliantly for the last two years”
