Now only four months are left before the start of the T20 World Cup. Defending champion Australia is going to host the 8th edition of the ICC tournament. Due to the World Cup being held at home, there is also pressure on hosts to defend the title. In such a situation, Australia will try to build their team to the greatest strength.
Meanwhile, former world champion captain Ricky Ponting has advised uncapped power heater, Tim David, to be included in the Australian side before the T20 World Cup. He said that if he were the selector, then without any second thought he would have picked David for the Australian side. As we know, Tim David hails from Singapore and he has been one of the most destructive batsmen in the shortest format of the game.
Ponting has recommended Tim David has super striking abilities and he could be a match-winner for Australia. 26-year-old David is performing brilliantly in the T20 format. This year he has so far scored 1002 runs at a strike rate of 183.51. Apart from this, David went out to bat in eight matches for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League 2022 in which he scored 186 runs at a strike rate of 216.27.
Former captain Ponting also compared Tim David to the late Australian giant Andrew Symonds, who died in a car accident earlier this year. Ponting included Symonds in his team during the 2003 World Cup, hosted by South Africa. At that time Symonds surprised everyone by playing an explosive inning of 143 runs in the opening match itself.
“If I was a selector, I would love to have someone like that in my team,” Ponting was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Ponting further said, “If he’s playing or not, just to have that sort of striking power ability around, he’s an out and out match-winner.”
“He’s the sort of player that could win you a World Cup. He’s not just the average run-of-the-mill guy that might just sneak into a squad. I mean, he reminds me a bit of someone like Andrew Symonds back in the 2003 World Cup.”
The T20 World Cup will commence on the 16th of October in Australia. Last year when this tournament was played in UAE, Australia clinched the title beating New Zealand in the finale
