Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has praised India’s all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya for their performance in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which India won under Rohit Sharma‘s leadership.
“Their all-rounders right through the tournament were outstanding,” Ponting said on the latest edition of The ICC Review. “(Ravindra) Jadeja, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, were all outstanding. I said at the start of the tournament I thought India would be really hard to beat because of their overall balance and because of that mix of youth and experience, and once again, in a final, the captain stands up and gets the job done for his team.”
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Ponting discussed how the presence of three all-rounders in the playing XI provided India with exceptional batting depth.
“They were a very well balanced side anyway, but because they had so many all-rounders…when you’ve got Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, who they used up the order on a number of occasions for that left-handed option, and with Jadeja there as well, they were a very well balanced team.
“The only thing you would probably say, they probably looked a little bit light on fast bowling, but as it turned out, they didn’t need that. That’s where Hardik Pandya’s role becomes really important to be able to bowl with a new ball and get through some overs early to make it a little bit easier for the spinners in the backend of their Powerplay and also through the middle overs where they predominantly bowl and spin pretty much right through the middle of the game.”
Axar Patel has shown significant improvement in his batting skills while working with Delhi Capitals under Ponting’s guidance as head coach.
Patel has enhanced his batting technique by adjusting his front foot position for lofting shots, maintaining his stance, and developing scoring options on the square of the wicket.
“Axar Patel is the other one that I think needs a lot of credit for this tournament. I think his bowling was as consistent and rock solid as you’d ever see,” Ponting added. “Then, just some of those little cameos he played with the bat, coming in earlier and sort of steadying the ship and just making life a little bit easier for the lower order in KL Rahul, Pandya, and Jadeja…I think he deserves a lot of credit for his tournament.”
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