Dubai, Mar 16 (PTI) Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting hailed India as the strongest T20I side ever assembled after their latest T20 World Cup triumph, saying the team’s depth, experience and consistency underline its remarkable record in white-ball cricket.
India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to claim their third ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title and become the first team to successfully defend the crown.
India have dominated men’s white-ball cricket, losing only two matches across their last four major ICC tournaments since the end of 2023. Their only defeats in this period came in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia and against South Africa during the Super Eight stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
“It’s really hard to argue a point against that. If you look at this, not just the T20I team but their white-ball record in ICC events over the last five or six years, it’s quite remarkable,” ICC Hall of Famer Ponting said on The ICC Review when asked if the current Indian group is the strongest ever in T20I cricket.
“A lot of people probably identified before this tournament started the depth and the strength that this current Indian team had, and also the experience that they have.
“This is a very, very strong Indian white-ball team, not just a T20 team. Back-to-back World Cups, hats off to them.” Ponting, a three-time World Cup winner, said the experience of playing high-pressure cricket, both internationally and in the Indian Premier League, has played a major role in shaping the team.
“The one thing that’s probably overlooked with this current team is the amount of experience and the amount of cricket a lot of these guys have played, whether it’s international cricket or even just the IPL,” said the Punjab Kings head coach.
“The IPL games are every bit as big as international games anyway, so this Indian team came in well primed with great balance and a great squad.” India had lost to South Africa by 76 runs during the Super Eight stage, but Ponting felt the setback helped the team regroup.
“You win 12 matches on the trot, there’s bound to be an off day. And I am glad it’s come early. It might just be the shake-up India needed,” he said.
“They would have learned from that experience and won’t take things for granted.” India responded with dominant batting performances, posting totals of over 250 in three of their remaining four matches, including the semifinal and the final.
“Maybe it just allowed them to regroup, get together and talk about the things that are important to them as a team,” Ponting added.
“They solidified what they felt was their strongest playing XI and didn’t make many changes at the back end of the tournament.” PTI ATK AM AM
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