He scored most runs for India since T20 World Cup 2024.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has made a bold prediction ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, starting February 7. He backs India opener Abhishek Sharma to take the spotlight in the ICC event and recalls a moment from his debut IPL season in 2018.
The ICC Hall of Famer, Ricky Ponting, believes the fearless approach and current form of Abhishek Sharma make him one of the most feared batters of the T20 World Cup 2026, although this will be his first senior ICC tournament.
“He’s a star and can be the Player of the Tournament,” said Ponting on ICC Review. “If he does, that makes India even harder to beat, and if not, they’re as vulnerable as anybody else. So that’s how important he is to this World Cup for India.”
Ponting thinks that not having previous World Cup experience could actually work in his favour, allowing him to play freely without any pressure. He expects him to be among the top performers as India aims to defend their T20 World Cup title.
The former Australia skipper, Ricky Ponting, recalled a moment from the debut season of Abhishek Sharma with Delhi Capitals (DC) and how he immediately recognised his rare talent.
“I was his first IPL coach. As a 17-year-old in Delhi and made an immediate impact. There was something extra special,” Ponting said. “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.”
Ricky Ponting always knew Abhishek had something special beyond just raw ability. He recalled how strongly he opposed the Delhi Capitals’ decision to trade the young player.
Years later, Ponting believes the left-hander has proven that faith, developing into an absolute beast, who can change games within the blink of an eye, be it the IPL or international cricket.
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Abhishek has prepared impressively for the T20 World Cup 2026 with a series of explosive performances against New Zealand in the ongoing T20I series. The left-hander scored 182 runs in five innings at 45.50 average, striking at an explosive 249.31. This included two fifties. His most impressive performance came in the third T20I, where he hit a stunning 14-ball half-century. This was the second-fastest by an Indian in T20I history, following Yuvraj Singh’s famous 12-ball fifty against England in 2007.
Adding to this, since the T20 World Cup 2024, Abhishek Sharma has scored 1297 runs for India, averaging 37.05 and striking at 194.74, featuring two hundreds and eight fifties.
Abhishek Sharma was part of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning team in 2018. Eight years later, he is set to play in his first senior T20 World Cup. India is in Group A with Pakistan, the USA, Namibia, and the Netherlands. India will begin their campaign on February 7 against the USA.
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