"My leading wicket-taker...": Ricky Ponting picks India pacer Jasprit Bumrah to dominate T20 WC

New Delhi [India], May 30 (ANI): Australia great Ricky Ponting threw his weight behind Indian ace Jasprit Bumrah, predicting the seamer to finish at the top wicket-taker list in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.

The former World Cup champion Ponting believes that Bumrah's sensational form in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 will make the India pacer frontrunner in the showpiece ICC event as the highest wicket-taker. In the IPL 2024, Bumrah took 20 wickets in 13 games, conceding runs at a miserly economy rate of 6.48 despite the large totals in the tournament.

"My leading wicket-taker for the tournament will be Jasprit Bumrah. I just think an outstanding performer, and contributor for a number of years now. He's just come off an outstanding IPL," Ponting told The ICC Review.

Bumrah's form, pace, yorkers and fitness will play a crucial role in deciding how far Men in Blue go in their campaign. Having missed the 2022 edition of the tournament in Australia due to injuries, the Indian team felt his absence really hard as they were crushed by England by 10 wickets in the semifinals. In 10 T20 WC matches across 2016 and 2021 editions, Bumrah took 11 wickets at an average of 22.54 and a strike rate of 21.0, with the best figures of 2/10.

"What he can do with the new ball, he swings the new ball, he has the seam up. But at the end, his economy rate at the end of the IPL was less than seven runs an over. He takes wickets. He does bowl a lot of the hard overs too. When you bowl the hard overs in T20 cricket, it gives you a chance to pick up a lot of wickets along the way. So, I'm going with him," he added.

The ICC T20 World Cup will be played in the West Indies and the USA from June 1 to 29. Men in Blue will also play Bangladesh in their only warm-up game on June 1 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

India will start their T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Meanwhile, the most-awaited blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan will take place on June 9. They will later play tournament co-hosts USA (June 12) and Canada (June 15) to wrap up their Group A matches.

In the tournament, India will be aiming to end their ICC trophy drought, having last won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Since then, India has reached the 50-over World Cup final in 2023, semifinal in 2015 and 2019, the title clash of the ICC World Test Championship in 2021 and 2023, T20 WC final in 2014, semifinals in 2016 and 2022 but failed to secure a big ICC trophy. (ANI)