Top Indian, Australian players feature in Ricky Ponting’s predictions for T20 World Cup honours

Ricky Ponting has revealed his predictions for the top wicket-taker and leading run-scorer at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Among the bowlers, Ponting threw his weight behind Indian ace Jasprit Bumrah, predicting the seamer to finish at the top of the wickets chart.

Bumrah comes off the back of a sensational IPL season, where he 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,” Ponting told The ICC Review.

“I just think an outstanding performer, contributor for a number of years now. He's just come off an outstanding IPL.

“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.”

The Australian legend chose to go with compatriot Travis Head as the top run-scorer in the upcoming tournament.

“My prediction for the leading run-scorer will be Travis Head,” Ponting said.

“I just think everything he's done, whether it be red-ball or white-ball in the last couple of years, has been of the highest quality. I think he's playing fearless cricket at the moment.”

Head was injured at the start of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup last year, but such was Australia’s faith in him that they carried the opener with the team until he was fit.

Head paid back on the confidence the team had in him with a roaring ton against New Zealand in his comeback game in the tournament.

He finished the tournament with two hundreds and a fifty, averaging over 50 with the bat while striking at an amazing rate of 127.52.

He continued to display immense form in the ongoing IPL 2024 season, playing a pivotal role at the top of the order in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s run to the final. Head scored 567 runs in 15 matches in the tournament so far at a rate of 191.55.

And despite a below-par finish to the IPL, Ponting expects more of the same fireworks from Head in the Caribbean and USA.

“His IPL had its ups and downs, but when it's been good, it's been very good. And it has won games of cricket for his team," Ponting noted.

“And it'll be exactly the same for Australia. So, look, he might not be the most consistent on the way through this tournament, but he'll be right up there, I'm sure, with the leading run scorers. And as I've said, if he spends any amount of time at the wicket for Australia, he'll win more games than ever.”

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 will begin on 1 June in the West Indies and USA.