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'Hardik Pandya is probably the best all-rounder in the world in T20 cricket' - Ricky Ponting

Hardik Pandya has bounced back in world cricket in a commanding fashion across departments. He is playing a vital role for India in the 2022 Asia Cup. Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting has backed him as T20's best global all-rounder.

Hardik Pandya is probably the best all-rounder in the world in T20 cricket, Jasprit Bumrah across formats - Ricky Ponting-ayh
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First Published Sep 6, 2022, 11:25 AM IST

Australian batting legend and ICC World Cup-winning skipper Ricky Ponting has retained Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya and pacer Jasprit Bumrah among his foremost five players for an ICC T20 World Cup playing XI. Ponting presumes that Pandya is possibly the best all-rounder in the Twenty20 format globally, while Bumrah is the complete bowler across formats.

Ponting stated during the ICC Review show, "On current form, it's pretty hard to go past Hardik Pandya at number three. His IPL was outstanding. To see him back at the bowling crease is something that I was always a little unsure would ever happen. He's had some enormous injury setbacks, which has affected how much he's been able to play for India."

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Notably, Pandya is assisting India in the Asia Cup 2022 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially as a bowler. "But he's back bowling at 140kph, which he was doing four or five years ago. But, his batting and maturity have come on in leaps and bounds. He understands the game better, and he understands his game better than ever before. Right now, he's probably the best all-rounder in the world in T20 cricket and could potentially be in ODI cricket," added Ponting.

The other three players in Ponting's opening five are leg-spinner Rashid Khan, opener Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-opener Jos Buttler. He reckoned on India's fast-bowling speargun: "He [Bumrah] is probably the complete bowler across Test cricket, One-Day cricket and T20 cricket in the world right now. Very good with the new ball when anyone decides to use him that way."

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"India might think of giving him an over with the new ball in Australia [during the T20WC] where it might swing, but what you can guarantee is a couple of great high-quality death overs, which every team is looking for - someone that can execute slow balls and bouncers," speculated Ponting. Bumrah is not participating in the ongoing Asia Cup due to an injury.

On the other hand, Ponting dedicated high acclaim to Afghanistan star Rashid. "I've gone with Rashid Khan at number one, and the reason I thought about that was if we had a player event in an IPL auction now and there was no salary cap, he's probably the one that's going to go for the most amount of money," he imagined.

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"I've got him at number one for his consistency, his wicket-taking ability over a long time, and his economy rate in the T20 game is just outstanding. When you're playing against any team that he's playing in, you probably have less sleep that night than you do for any other game you play during the year," concluded Ponting.

(With inputs from PTI)

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