Former Australia captain and legendary batter, Ricky Ponting has named two Aussie players who will be crucial in the country's chances of winning the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Firstly, Ponting picked premier paceman Mitchell Starc as one of the players who could prove pivotal in the Baggy Greens' dream of reclaiming the World Cup. Talking about Starc, the left-arm pacer is among the greatest when it comes to World Cups.
Starc was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2015 ODI World Cup in Australia and he finished with 22 wickets in eight matches. In the following 2019 World Cup in England, the left-arm speedster bagged 27 wickets in 10 matches and ended up as the leading wicket-taker by a huge margin.
Ponting lauded Starc's ability and also underlined how he has been unfairly criticised in the past despite being a consistent performer in 50-over white cricket.
"It's the overall package of Mitchell Starc. He's six-foot-five, bowls in the high 140-km per hour, he's a left-arm and he swings the new ball back in as Suryakumar found out," Ponting said on the ICC Review.
"When he's on song, he's as good as anyone in the world and has been for a long time. For lots of strange reasons, there have always been people willing to sit back and take potshots at Mitchell Starc for some of his performances. But if you have a cold hard look at the facts, particularly in white-ball cricket, his numbers are absolutely outstanding," he added.
Along with Starc, Ponting believes leg-spinner Adam Zampa will be Australia's key man in ICC quadrennial tournament which is scheduled to be held later in the year.
"He's probably been Australia's key bowler in all white-ball cricket for a long time, along with Mitchell Starc," Ponting said.
"Starc has been great but Adam Zampa for four or five years now has been a real revelation. He's been the backbone of the Australian bowling attack which probably led to him being a little bit disappointed not to be picked on a Test tour to India," he a
added.
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