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Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has opined that Rohit Sharma is the ideal captain to lead the Men in Blue as they look to clinch the 2023 ODI World Cup at home. Comparing the personalities of Rohit and his predecessor Virat Kohli, the Aussie legend stated that the latter would have found it slightly harder to cope with the pressure of the big occasion.
The Men in Blue have got off to a terrific start in the ODI 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 triumph over Afghanistan. In their previous match, they got the better of arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets.
Ponting stated on the ICC website that Rohit would be able to cope with pressure in a better manner because of his composed nature.
"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 explained.
“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,” the former cricketer added.
Ponting added that Rohit is the right person to lead India in the World Cup as Kohli can focus solely 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,” he elaborated.
Both Rohit and Kohli have been impressive with the bat in the 2023 ODI World Cup so far. While the Indian captain has scored a hundred and a fifty, Kohli has contributed two crucial half-centuries.
“We’ll see how they hold up under extreme pressure” - Ponting on whether Rohit and co. can lift World Cup
Many critics have picked hosts India as favorites to lift the World Cup at home. Ponting also agrees that the Men in Blue 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,” the Aussie great concluded.
India last won the ODI World Cup in 2011 under MS Dhoni when they co-hosted the ICC event.
