Former Australia coach and Mumbai Indian head coach Ricky Ponting has picked up Sunrisers Hyderabad duo David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the ongoing Indian Premier League’s best batsman and bowler, respectively.
Warner came into this edition on the back of a disastrous performance in the four-match Test series against India. The hard-hitting left-handed batsman had managed only 193 runs at an average of 24.12 in the eight innings of the Border-Gavaskar series.
However, the change in format and the added responsibility of the captaincy led to a change in fortunes for him, as he amassed a staggering 641 runs in only 14 matches at an impressive average of over 58.
In the process, the Australia opener became the first batsman in this year’s Indian Premier League to score 500 runs. He has scored 500 runs for the fourth consecutive year in the tournament. In fact, he is the only player to breach the 500 as well as 600-run mark this season. The next in the list is Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir who has scored 498 runs.
“I was asked right at the start of the tournament who I thought might be the player of the tournament and David Warner was the one I singled out,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.
“I just felt on the back of the Test series in India that he probably wasn’t that happy with (his performance). Being back as captain of a team that won it the year before, I know he likes that extra responsibility as well and whenever he’s been captain or had that extra responsibility, he’s played well.
“The thing about Davey now as well is he’s very consistent in this form of the game which is not an easy thing to do. I think the captaincy thing sits well with him, he’s consistent and he plays match-winning knocks. That’s the bottom line,” Ponting added.
Best bowler: Bhuvneshwar Kumar:
The right-arm pacer showed that his performance last season when he won the purple cap, was not a fluke. In fact, he performed even better this year compared to last year. The Uttar Pradesh star took 26 wickets in only 14 matches this season compared to his tally of 23 wickets in 17 outings last season.
His average of 14.19 and an impressive economy rate of a shade over seven is another proof that he is by far the best bowler of this season.
“I actually think (Kumar) has (been the best bowler of IPL10) because of what he’s been able to do with the new ball,” Ponting explained. “He takes wickets with the new ball almost every game. The opening bowlers in T20 cricket bowl all the difficult overs as well. They bowl two or three in the Power Play and then someone like Kumar comes back and bowls one or two at the death as well.”
“That gives them the chance to take a lot of wickets but his economy rate has been pretty good as well. “So he probably has been the standout bowler. It just goes to show how important it is to swing the new ball. It doesn’t matter what part of the world you’re playing, if you can swing the new ball and put it in the right areas, you’re a chance of taking wickets up front,” the former Australia batsman added.
Ponting further said that Bhuvneshwar has been doing well not only in the IPL but also at the international stage.
“I’m not surprised that Bhuvneshwar has done what he’s done because he’s been a world-class performer for the last few years. And not just in the IPL. Have a look at his Test record and especially in conditions where the ball does something, he’s a very good bowler,” he said.
Ponting also named his top 5 fielders for this tournament. Hardik Pandya, David Warner, Ravindra Jadeja, Glenn Maxwell and Kieron Pollard have made the cut in the list.
When asked to pick his surprise of this season, the legendary batsman picked Delhi Daredevils for their poor performance. Despite boasting some of the brightest Indian youngsters and a bowling lineup consisting the likes of Pat Cummins, Zaheer Khan and Kagiso Rabada, the capital-based outfit finished the season at a disappointing sixth place with just six wins.
“Delhi have surprised me,” Ponting said. “I picked them as a bit of a smoky for the tournament because the last few years they’d put together some really strong squads. They’ve got just about all the best young Indian batsmen with Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. They’ve just missed something there. They’ve surprised me that they haven’t been a bit more competitive this season.