Ricky Ponting, the former Australian captain and two-time World Cup winner, has highlighted the pivotal role played by Rohit Sharma in India’s quest for success in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 on home soil. Ponting lauded Rohit as an “ideal captain” and stressed the importance of his leadership. India have kicked off their World Cup campaign with three impressive victories.

In their tournament opener, India secured a six-wicket triumph over Australia, and they followed it up with convincing wins against Afghanistan and Pakistan, placing them at the top of the points table with six points. 

“He’s very laid back, Rohit. Very laid back with everything he does. You can even see that by the way that he plays. He’s a pretty laconic sort of batsman as well, and that’s the way he is both on and off the field,” Ponting, who has worked with Mumbai Indians closely during his stint with the Mumbai Indians both as a player and a coach, told ICC.

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Acknowledging the immense pressure that comes with such a tournament, Ponting expressed confidence in Rohit’s ability to handle it admirably. Rohit took over the captaincy from Virat Kohli in both white-ball formats in December 2021. Ponting noted that Rohit is the right choice as the team’s leader, allowing star batter Virat Kohli to focus on his exceptional batting skills.

Virat Kohli Would Have Probably Found It Harder To Lead India In 2023 World Cup: Ponting

Ponting mentioned, “Someone like Virat, who is a bit more heart-on-the-sleeve, and probably listens to the fans and plays up with the fans a little bit more, someone with his personality would probably find it a bit harder.”

“But I think Rohit will be fine with it. He’s a terrific bloke and has been a great player for a long time, and he’s done a great job as leader of India,” he said.

The Australian cricket legend also weighed in on India’s status as the favourites in the ongoing tournament.

He stated: “I said from the start that I think they’re going to be the team to beat. They’ve got a very talented team. They’ve got all bases covered with their fast bowling, their spin and their top-order, middle-order batting. They’re going to be extremely hard to beat. But we’ll see how they hold up under extreme pressure as well.”

Meanwhile, India’s next match is against Bangladesh on October 19 (Thursday), at the MCA Stadium in Pune. India remain unbeaten in the tournament while Bangladesh have won just one of their three matches in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 matches.