Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has opined that Rohit Sharma is the ideal captain to lead the Indian cricket team as they look to win the 2023 ODI World Cup at home. When comparing the personalities of Rohit and his predecessor Virat Kohli, the Aussie legend stated that the latter might have struggled more under the pressure of the big occasion.
The Indian cricket team started off strong in the One Day International World Cup, winning three out of three games. They began with a six-wicket win over Australia and followed it up with an eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan. In their previous match, they got the better of their strongest opponents, Pakistan, by seven wickets.
On the ICC website, Ricky Ponting suggested that Rohit will be able to handle pressure better because of his calm temperament.
“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.”
“We can’t sit back and say that the pressure won’t get to them at some stage, or it won’t affect them, because it will, just with the enormity of the tournament. But he’ll take it and cope with it as well as probably anyone.”
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting went on to say that Rohit is the best guy to lead India in the World Cup since Kohli can concentrate only on scoring runs.
“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.”
Ricky Ponting
So far in the 2023 ODI World Cup, both Rohit and Kohli have been excellent with the bat. While the Indian skipper has a century and a fifty, Kohli has two critical half-centuries.
How Rohit and His Team Will Face the Extreme Pressure in World Cup, by Ricky Ponting
Many critics have picked hosts India as favorites to win the World Cup on their home ground. Ponting also agrees that the Indian team are one of the strongest contenders. He, however, stated that it will all come down to how they handle pressure.
“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.”
Ricky Ponting
India last won the ODI World Cup under MS Dhoni in 2011, when they co-hosted the ICC tournament.