“Ruturaj Could Be Serious All Format Indian Player Soon,” Said Ricky Ponting: India is a sea of talent. We have witnessed a glimpse of it in the West Indies vs India 1st Test from debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal who posted a brilliant 171. Ruturaj Gaikward is another one-of-a-kind batsman who currently is benched but has a lot of potential. Ricky Ponting, the Australian legend has recently applauded some Indian domestic players who according to him are exceptionally brilliant.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting feels that there are a number of young Indian batsmen who might achieve success at the Test level if given the opportunity in the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
After Yashasvi Jaiswal struck a superb 171 on his Test debut, Ricky Ponting expressed his admiration for the young player and expressed his belief that Ruturaj Gaikwad could achieve the same success if given the chance.
Jaiswal had an outstanding Indian Premier League 2023 season in which he scored 625 runs for the Rajasthan Royals before making his India debut. Ruturaj Gaikwad of CSK scored 590 runs in 15 innings, greatly contributing to the team’s title victory.
Ponting in the recent episode of The ICC Review said, “I mean Jaiswal’s IPL was something special. He almost just flicked a switch and turned into a superstar overnight. Everyone knew that he was a talented youngster, but what I saw in this year’s IPL, he’s got all sorts of talent.”
Ponting believes that if given the chance to compete in Test matches, plenty of other uncapped youngsters would be inspired by Jaiswal and be able to perform in a similar manner. He suggested Ruturaj Gaikwad as another player who may succeed in the future, and Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw as two additional players who might readily adapt to the demands of Test cricket.
“There’s a lot of those young Indian guys that I can’t wait to see play Test cricket and yet you look at their domestic records as well and you can’t help but be impressed. I’m on record saying that I think (Ruturaj) Gaikwad’s the same (as Jaiswal). I think he could be a very serious Test match player or all-format player really in the next couple of years,” he added.
Sarfaraz Khan averages around 80 in first-class cricket but isn’t given a chance by the Indian selection, and Ponting acknowledged that he felt bad for him.
“The one I do feel a little bit sorry for is Sarfaraz Khan. The fact that he hasn’t got a look in a Test squad just yet considering he averages in the high 80s I think in first-class cricket, which is absolutely unheard of, but for some reason, they keep picking these other guys ahead of him,” Ponting said on Sarafarz.
“If I wind the clock back a couple of years, I’d put Prithvi Shaw into that category as well. I still think he’s capable of getting back to that sort of, you know if he wants to do it enough, I’m sure he can get back up there because talent-wise there’s no doubt in the talent he’s got,” he said.
“So, yeah, I probably do think those two guys would be the standouts. I think just off the top of my head, batting-wise, they’d be the two. And as I said, well Sarfaraz is the other one that’s got all sorts of talent that we might not see for a little while just yet,” he concluded.
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