New Delhi: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has praised the Indian national cricket team after their overwhelming victory in the 2026 T20 World Cup, saying the current Indian team is one of the strongest T20 teams ever.
Team India defeated the New Zealand national cricket team by 96 runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to claim their third T20 World Cup title.
This victory also made India the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup.
Ponting praises India’s depth and consistency
Ponting highlighted India’s impressive performances in recent international cricket tournaments and their strong record in white-ball cricket. According to him, the team’s combination of talent, experience and depth make them extremely difficult to beat.
“It’s really hard to argue with that. If you look at that, not just the T20I teams but their white-ball record in ICC events over the last five or six years, it’s pretty remarkable,” Ponting said in the International Cricket Council’s ICC commentary.
“A lot of people probably knew before this tournament started about the depth and quality of this Indian team and the experience they have.
“This is a very, very strong Indian white-ball team, not just a T20 team. Two World Cups in a row, hats off to them.”
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Experience and IPL influence
The former Australia captain believes the players’ experience in international cricket and the Indian Premier League has helped them handle pressure better.
“One thing that might be overlooked in this squad at the moment is that a lot of them have a lot of experience and playing cricket, whether it’s international cricket or the IPL,” said Ponting, who is also the head coach of Kings XI Punjab.
“The scale of the IPL is as big as international matches anyway, so this Indian team is ready, has great balance and a great squad.”
Learn from rare failures
India lost to the South Africa national cricket team at the Super Eight stage, but Ponting believes the defeat actually helped the team refocus.
“When you win 12 games in a row, there are bound to be rest days. I’m glad it came early. This could be just the shake-up India need,” he said. “They will learn from this experience and not take things for granted.”
After that defeat, India bounced back with a strong batting performance, scoring over 250 runs in three games, including the semi-finals and final.
“Maybe it’s just about getting them back together and talking about what’s important to them as a team,” Ponting added.
“They solidified what they thought was their strongest eleven and didn’t make too many changes late in the game.”
