New Delhi, February 25 – Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes that India should move away from overthinking match-ups and instead focus on fielding their strongest XI following the 76-run defeat to South Africa in the Super Eights of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
India's team selection came under scrutiny at the Narendra Modi Stadium, where Washington Sundar was preferred over vice-captain Axar Patel in a tactical move aimed at countering South Africa's left-handed batting lineup. However, the decision did not pay off as India were bundled out for 111 in reply to 187/7, suffering their first defeat of the tournament.
Ponting questioned the rationale behind sidelining Axar solely on match-up grounds. "Listening to the commentary, the reason Axar didn't play (against South Africa) is because of the left-handers in the opposition side. But there are still some right-handers there. It just comes down to the art of the captain being able to use Axar at the right time," he said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.
India's loss has left them needing victories in their remaining Super Eight fixtures to stay in contention for the semi-finals, as their net run rate has taken a significant hit. Against a disciplined South African attack led by Marco Jansen (4-22) and Keshav Maharaj (3-24), India's batting frailties were exposed, intensifying debate around team balance and bowling combinations.
Ponting, who guided Australia to two 50-over World Cup titles, suggested that India should simplify their approach ahead of their next assignment in Chennai. The former Australian skipper also floated another potential change, backing wrist-spin as a more universally effective option regardless of batting match-ups.
"I would be going back to the basics. I'd be just looking at their lineup. Who's our best XI for the conditions in Chennai? If that has Axar Patel in it, great. If it has Kuldeep Yadav in it, that's the other one that I'd be thinking about bringing back because it doesn't matter with him if it's left-hand or right-hand. He can bowl wrong ones and spin the ball away from the left-hand outside edge of both those batters," Ponting opined.
