Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has revealed that India’s decision to bring back Sanju Samson into the playing XI in the T20 World Cup was a big call. Samson was included in the Super 8 stage match against Zimbabwe after India suffered a crushing 76-run loss against South Africa.
Samson returned with scores of 97(50), 89(42), and 89(46) in the virtual quarterfinals, semifinal and final of the tournament, respectively. The right-hander was awarded Player of the tournament after he scored 321 runs in five matches at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.38.
Samson delivered in the three big matches and played a key role in India’s success.
Ricky Ponting said on ICC Review, “For India to stick with him at the top there, that was a big call to make. A big decision, but one that worked out really well in the end. If you get the backing of the coaching staff and the captain, then that’s all you need… Just a pat on the back or an arm around the shoulder to say, ‘we’re sticking with you, we believe in you.’
“When you’ve got the quality that Sanju’s got, and the confidence of the captain and coach behind you, that’s when great things can happen,” the 51-year-old added.
Ponting highlighted that captaincy can become easier if the captain is scoring runs, whereas it can become difficult if the runs are not coming. Barring scoring an unbeaten 84 off 49 balls against the USA, SKY had a quiet tournament with the bat.
Ponting said, “He didn’t have a great time himself as a player, but still he’s standing at the end holding a World Cup trophy. I know as a former captain, when you’re not batting at your best, captaincy can become really difficult. And when you are batting well, captaincy can become really easy.”
The two-time World Cup-winning captain concluded by saying that it would have been interesting to note how SKY would have got the best of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. After having a horrid run in the tournament, Abhishek scored a quickfire knock of 52 runs off 21 balls in the final against the Kiwis.
“It would have been really interesting to see how Surya has interacted with Abhishek and Sanju over the last few weeks. That’s where the real stories will come out on true leadership,” he added.
Meanwhile, SKY scored 242 runs at an average of 30.25 in the T20 World Cup 2026.
