Not Sachin Tendulkar! Ricky Ponting Picks Ex-India Captain As ‘Best White-Ball Player Ever’

Last Updated:April 07, 2025, 16:17 IST

Since making his international debut in August 2008, the former Indian captain has played 550 runs across formats and, with the help of 82 centuries and 143 fifties, has scored 27,599 runs.

Not Sachin Tendulkar! Ricky Ponting picks ex-India captain as best white-ball cricketer ever. (Picture Credit: AFP)

Former Australian men’s cricket team captain Ricky Ponting is in India these days. He is associated with Punjab Kings in the ongoing 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as head coach. Previously he was with Delhi Capitals for seven years, and before that he served as head coach of Mumbai Indians, with whom he also won the IPL title in 2015.

Ponting, who is one of the greatest cricketers of all time, during the recent interview with Indian Express, was asked about the likes of star Indian batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. While talking about the star batting duo, the two-time ODI World Cup-winning team captain said that Virat is a high-quality player, and one can’t write him off.

He went on to add that the former Indian captain is the best white-ball player ever.

“I have been on record about Virat to say, ‘You can’t write off quality players.’ They’re champions for a reason and always find a way to come good. Different times in the last couple of years, Virat has been able to do that when he is getting in a hole. He is a high-quality player, and maybe Rohit is a bit the same. Test cricket is the thing that is becoming harder for them right now. Rohit has made it clear he’s going nowhere in the 50-over game. Virat is the best white-ball player ever. I will never write those guys off. I love those guys when they play international cricket, and hopefully, they can play for years to come,” Ponting said.

Since making his international debut for Team India in August 2008 against Sri Lanka, Kohli has played 123 Tests, 302 ODIs and 125 T20Is and has 9230, 14181 and 4188 runs, respectively, to his name. He is the third leading run scorer in international cricket, ODIs and T20Is as well.

The 36-year-old right-handed batter announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game after winning the Player of the Match award in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 final win over South Africa at Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29, 2024.