Ponting, who coached Abhishek during his early IPL days at Delhi Capitals, revealed that he had strongly urged the franchise to retain the left-hander back in 2018, convinced of his long-term potential.
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Australia’s two-time World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting has backed Abhishek Sharma to play a decisive role at the upcoming T20 World Cup, tipping the India opener to finish as the tournament’s leading run-scorer and even emerge as Player of the Tournament.
Ponting, who coached Abhishek during his early IPL days at Delhi Capitals, revealed that he had strongly urged the franchise to retain the left-hander back in 2018, convinced of his long-term potential.
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“I was his first IPL coach,” Ponting said in the ICC Review. “He debuted with me, I think as a 17-year-old at Delhi and made an immediate impact. I think he hit his first ball for four or six straight back over the bowler’s head with that classical sort of straight bat and held the pose. And you could just see then as a 17-year-old that there was something extra special.”
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Ponting recalled his frustration when the franchise decided to trade Abhishek, insisting he had foreseen the rise of a future star.
“We ended up trading him away from Delhi, but I pleaded and pleaded and pleaded and said, please don’t do this. We’ve got to [keep him], there’s an absolute superstar in the making here. And that’s what it’s turned out to be. I’ve got really high hopes for him this time.”
Abhishek announced himself with a blistering 19-ball 46 not out on IPL debut for Delhi but featured in only two more innings before being traded to Sunrisers Hyderabad as part of a deal that brought Shikhar Dhawan to the Capitals.
Since joining Sunrisers in 2019, he has steadily fulfilled his promise, amassing 1,753 runs in 71 innings at a strike rate of 162.16.
The explosive left-hander has elevated his game further on the international stage and is set to feature in his first ICC tournament, something Ponting believes will not faze him.
“(It’s) a real positive to be honest. He can be the leading run-scorer and potentially the Player of the Tournament. That’s how good I think he is. And if he does, that makes India even harder to beat. If he doesn’t, then they’re as vulnerable as anybody else. So that’s how important I think he is to this World Cup for India.”
Abhishek’s numbers since making his T20I debut in July 2024 underline Ponting’s confidence. In 37 innings, he has piled up 1,297 runs at an average of 37.05 and a staggering strike rate of 194.74, including two centuries and eight half-centuries.
Among those is a 14-ball fifty against New Zealand earlier this month, the second-fastest half-century by an Indian in T20 internationals.
India, the defending champions, open their World Cup campaign against the USA in Mumbai on February 7, with Abhishek Sharma expected to be central to their title defence.
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