Ricky Ponting talks about Team India’s T20 World Cup winning campaign NEW DELHI: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has hailed India’s decision to back Sanja Samson as an opener during their victorious campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. According to Ponting, the confidence shown in Samson by captain Suryakumar Yadav and the coaching staff played a major role in India’s success.Samson’s tournament did not start smoothly. Before the World Cup, he scored only 46 runs in five T20Is against the New Zealand national cricket team. He was initially given a chance in a league match against the Namibian national cricket team in New Delhi after Abhishek Sharma fell ill. He was later brought back for the crucial Super Eight match against the Zimbabwe national cricket team and turned his tournament around with a series of brilliant performances.
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Samson played some crucial knocks as India progressed in the competition. He scored an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies national cricket team in Kolkata, followed by 89 in the semi-final against the England national cricket team in Mumbai and another 89 in the final against the New Zealand national cricket team in Ahmedabad. His total of 321 runs in five innings became the most by an Indian batsman in a single edition of the T20 World Cup and earned him the Player of the Tournament award.“It was a big challenge for India to stick with him at the top. A big decision but in the end it worked out really well. If you get the support of the coaching staff and the captain, then that’s all you need,” Ponting told The ICC Review.“All it takes is a pat on the back or an arm around the shoulders to say, ‘We’re sticking with you, we believe in you.’ When you have the quality that Sanju has and the confidence of a captain and a coach, then great things can happen.”Ponting also praised Suryakumar’s leadership and how he managed his players during the tournament. “It would be really interesting to see how Surya interacted with Abhishek (Sharam) and Sanju (Samson) over the last few weeks. That’s where real stories of real leadership will come out.”Despite not scoring heavily apart from an unbeaten 84 against the United States national cricket team, Suryakumar led India to the title. Ponting concluded: “It’s about a lot more than what they do off the field, the things people don’t see and how they communicate with their players. He didn’t have a great time as a player himself, but he still stands at the end with a World Cup trophy.”
