Delhi Capitals’ (DC) current head coach and former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting believe that batting in the T20 cricket is ‘a lot more like baseball’ where the players need to use more power.
While speaking to The Indian Express, Ricky Ponting said that the batsman is using both conventional and unconventional ways to score run in the shortest format of the cricket. Citing the example of Virat Kohli, Ponting said that the Indian captain uses his orthodox techniques to get better of the opposition.
He added that the Australia cricketer Steve Smith and David Warner can score runs from every nook and corner of the ground in T20 cricketer.
“If you think through the very best T20 players in the world right now, they do have a great mix of the conventional and the unconventional (shots). Virat Kohli still plays a beautiful cover drive.
“AB de Villiers does play beautiful cover drives. Steven Smith, David Warner – these guys still hit beautiful shots square of the wicket (off) the front foot and back. They have the ability, probably later in the innings, to clear the boundary line as well,” Ponting said.
T20 cricket is power-based now: Ricky Ponting
Talking about DC’s players, Ricky Ponting mentioned Rishabh Pant’s specific role is to gear up the innings for the team. While Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw build up the innings with using mixed techniques, as per him. At last, he concluded that T20 cricket has become much more power-based now.
“Someone like Rishabh Pant, he has got slightly more unconventional shots. A lot of his shots are more aerial. But that’s the role he plays in our team. If you think about someone like Shikhar (Dhawan) or Prithvi Shaw, they are mixing the conventional with the unconventional as well.
“So, there’s still room for those types of players. The T20 game, or the white-ball game, has become so much more power-based now, batting is becoming a lot more like baseball,” he said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals will play the first match of the T20 tournament against Kings XI Punjab on 20 September.